Triglycerides aren’t talked about as much as cholesterol, but high triglyceride levels can also increase your risk of heart attack and stroke. Dr. Scott Noorda says you can quickly lower triglyceride levels in your blood through dietary changes. “Triglycerides go up with carbs and sugar, so cutting out all sugar and sweeteners and switching to a low-carb diet (particularly processed carbs) can also make a big change fast for some people,” Noorda explains. Limiting alcohol and sugary packaged foods can also lower your LDL cholesterol.
You’ll also want to add foods with plant sterols and fiber found in whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. These nutrients cling to the cholesterol in your gut to reduce how much cholesterol is released into your bloodstream. Noorda says eating fish high in omega-3, such as salmon and mackerel, can increase your HDL cholesterol to help clear the LDL from your bloodstream. Taking high-quality fish oil supplements could also improve your HDL cholesterol.
You’ll also boost your HDL cholesterol by exercising. “We tell our patients to shoot for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. Research shows that many different types of exercise can help support healthy cholesterol levels, so we often recommend starting with something that you enjoy enough to continue and then, once that is an established habit, encourage you to add weight training and some aerobic component, like daily walks.”
