In this article, I am going to talk about all the different lifestyle techniques that you can use to try and lower your LDL (bad cholesterol). As a cardiologist in Singapore, we never look at cholesterol in isolation, we also inform patients about the types of food to control bad cholesterol. 

Your cholesterol is just one component that adds to your overall risk of heart attacks and strokes.  Examples of other components or, “risk factors” are smoking history, blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, and family history.

We look at all your risk factors and work out your risk level. Sometimes if you are low to moderate risk then it is reasonable to try lifestyle first before commencing cholesterol-lowering medications called statins. With the help of food to control bad cholesterol, positive changes can often be observed especially when the treatment plan is followed consistently.

However, some patients actually need to start medication straight away because their cholesterol, or risk is considered high. This conversation will happen between you and your doctor. If you have decided to try lifestyle modification first, then this article, shows you what can you do.

Eliminate dietary trans fats (partially hydrogenated vegetable oils)

LDL cholesterol is the most important when it comes to cardiovascular risk. If you want to lower it, the first thing that you can do is avoid dietary trans fats. Avoiding certain food can control bad cholesterol and trans fats should be top of the list. These fats are already banned in some countries.  They are common in junk food, and margarine, or are used for cheap reusable frying oil.

If you look at an ingredients list they are called partially hydrogenated oils. They are chemically altered vegetable oils and they raise LDLAND lower HDL (good cholesterol) AND consequently increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart attacks.

Reduce your saturated fat intake

The second step is probably to reduce your saturated fat intake if you eat a lot of it. There is a whole load of articles about how fats are not the enemy they were once thought to be.  I am not saying to go low fat or eliminate saturated fats from your diet completely.  Just make healthier fat choices.  The fact is that saturated fats do increase your LDL. It always pays to be careful with your food to control bad cholesterol.

In addition, around 10% of people in the population respond more to saturated fats than others, i.e. the effect on their LDL is greater. For example, I tried bulletproof coffee for about a month (coffee with a lot of saturated fat – butter and coconut oil) and I managed to increase my LDL by about 30%!! 

I would suggest cutting back a little bit on the saturated fat and replacing it with a healthier fat like extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks and death. This is proof that can make smart choices in food to control bad cholesterol.

Increase your fiber intake

Basically, the more fiber you eat, the less cholesterol you will absorb in your diet. Whilst I’m on this subject, I should say that most cholesterol (80%) in your body is actually made by your body.  This means that your body would depend on your choice of food to control bad cholesterol.

Only a small amount of cholesterol comes from your diet.  That is why increasing your dietary fiber intake will help you lower your cholesterol, but only by a small amount.

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Plant phytosterols (try not to use)

These compounds are basically plant cholesterol. They occur naturally in vegetables. The average person eats between 250 and 500mg per day in their diet. When you eat them, you block the absorption of cholesterol in the gut. They lower your LDL a little bit; if you take 2g per day, your LDL will fall by 7-10%. So it is a good idea to include more green plant-based food to control bad cholesterol.

However, no studies have shown whether they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. My advice would be to avoid their use given the theoretical downsides with their use, read this article for more detail.

Red Yeast Rice

Another natural way to lower LDL is to take a supplement called red yeast rice. It can be bought in many different health food stores. The reason why it lowers LDL cholesterol is that it contains a substance called monacolin K which is very similar to the statin drugs the doctor gives you. It could actually be the ultimate food to control bad cholesterol but of course, following your doctor’s advise would still matter.

 

Nutraceutical supplements are generally not regulated so if you buy red yeast rice, you can never be sure how much is in each tablet. Get more information in this article. You are almost as well taking a statin drug, at least then you know how much you are taking!

Weight loss

If you are very overweight and if you lose weight, your LDL will come down a little bit. For every 10Kg of weight loss you can lower LDL by 0.2mmol/l or 8mg/dl. Losing weight has many other remarkable benefits on multiple risk factors like blood pressure so you don’t just do it for its cholesterol-lowering properties!

In summary, there are multiple things you can do to lower your cholesterol that doesn’t require drugs. However, lifestyle changes only ever influence your LDL by 10-20%.  Whereas medical therapy can lower it by over 50%.  The magnitude of reduction is reflected in the magnitude of the reduction in the risk of heart attack and stroke. 

In addition, if you do make lifestyle changes you need to make sure that they are sustainable in the long term.  Three months of lifestyle adjustment is not going to lower your risk, any changes need to be long-term!

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