5 Tips to Improving Cholesterol and Reducing Triglycerides

1. Enjoy at least 30 minutes a day of aerobic activity.  Try activities you enjoy.  Here are a few examples:

• Take the dog for a fast-paced walk
• Dance to your favorite music
• Go swimming with some friends or take your kids to the pool

2. Manage the amount and kind of fats you eat.  There are 3 types of fat the Good (unsaturated), the bad (saturated) and the ugly (trans fat).  Try to consume mostly the good but also keep the ugly to a minimum of 2 grams per day.  You can find the content of trans fat in packaged products by reading the nutrition facts label.  Make sure you take serving size into consideration.
Good fats:

• Cook with canola oil and use olive oil in salads and sauces
• Enjoy nuts, seeds and peanut butter in small amounts daily
• Eat fatty fish like salmon and tuna

3. Eat more soluble fiber to decrease LDL or "lousy" cholesterol.  Soluble fiber is found in these foods that are always part of a healthy diet:

• Oatmeal
• Most fruits
• Potatoes (and no, french fries are not beneficial)
• Ground flaxseed
• Beans

4. Eat less sugar, plain and simple.  Here are a few tips that may help:

• Eat fruit instead of drinking juice
• Eat half the dessert you might normally eat
• Cut out soda pop
• Add half the sugar or none at all in your morning coffee
• Read labels on your breakfast ceral and choose cereals with 7 grams or less per serving

5. Lose weight.  Being overweight can lead to increased levels of cholesterol especially LDL the "bad" kind.  Following tips 1-4 can help with weight loss as well as helping reduce risk of high cholesterol.  The bottom line is this; there are no magic bullets to losing weight.  It simply comes down to how many calories your consume versus how many calories you burn.  Here are some straight-forward tips to weight loss:

• Eat less, move more
• Eat more nutrient rich foods and less calorie dense foods
• Work on willpower
• Learn to be OK with leaving food on your plate
• Drink water at meals instead of liquids that contain calories like juice, soda or wine