Having too high a cholesterol level will increase your risk of having a heart attack.
It is essential to make a number of lifestyle changes if you wish to avoid having a heart attack, even if you are taking medication to reduce your cholesterol.
Some of the changes to make include stop smoking, avoid stressful situations, take part in cardio vascular activities and follow a healthy diet.
Smoking The effects of smoking on the lungs are well known, as well as causing shortness of breath it can lead to cancer.
What is not so well known is that smoking can reduce your levels of HDL cholesterol.
If you stop smoking, your HDL levels will rise to the same as a non smoker within a matter of weeks.
As you need to keep HDL levels up, stopping smoking is an important lifestyle change to make.
Avoid stress It has long been known that stress can raise your blood pressure and heart rate.
Doctors believe that increased stress levels cause the body to produce more glucose and fatty acids.
These in turn require more LDL cholesterol to be produced by the liver in order that they can be carried around the body.
In addition, it is thought that stress reduces the production of HDL which helps to carry excess cholesterol back to the liver for processing.
It is certainly worthwhile learning techniques to reduce stress levels if you need to lower your cholesterol.
Exercise Cardio vascular exercise is very beneficial for the heart as it strengthens the heart muscle.
It also helps with controlling cholesterol by reducing LDL levels and boosting HDL levels.
Furthermore, exercise helps to tone the body's muscle and also clears away any clots that may form in blood vessels.
Walking, cycling and swimming are all ideal and you should aim to have a minimum of thirty minutes of such exercise each day.
A healthy diet Following a healthy diet is essential in lowering cholesterol.
Avoid saturated fats and make more use of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Eat lean meat, chicken and also oily fish (for the Omega 3 oils).
Make sure you have enough starchy foods and vegetables on your plate.
Try to have at least three portions of fruit per day as well.