Naturally Lowering Cholesterol

Naturally lowering cholesterol can be gentler on the body than taking medications, but it should be done while under a doctors care. If you have high cholesterol and are on medication, discuss these lifestyle changes with your doctor before changing your eating habits - chances are, he or she has already talked about many of the things listed below and will be more than happy to see you make these changes. You may eventually be able to wean yourself off medication, under your doctors supervision, when you make lifestyle changes to lower cholesterol naturally.

Naturally lowering cholesterol includes making sure you get enough vitamins and minerals, eating the right kinds of foods and exercise. There is no magic herb or cholesterol lowering foods that you can eat and get immediate results - it takes time and lifestyle changes but they will be well worth it not only to lower cholesterol naturally but also for your overall health and well being!

The first step in naturally lowering cholesterol is to make sure you adopt good eating habits. You should eat lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Make sure you get plenty of fiber as this can help flush cholesterol out of the body. Fiber can be found in the skins of fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, oats and legumes. Avoid red meat and high fat dairy products. Try to avoid saturated fats found in processed foods, fried foods and desserts and eat more of the good fats like olive oil. Some good cholesterol lowering foods include whole oats, barley, apples, lentils, soy and possibly even fish.

Under your doctors supervision, consider getting more of these herbs and vitamins to help you naturally lower cholesterol:

Garlic
Garlic has powerful healing properties and is one of the most tasty cholesterol lowering foods. It has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb. It is both an antibacterial and antifungal herb and can help reduce blood lipids much like cholesterol medicines.

Niacin
Niacin (Vitamin B3) has been shown in studies, to lower cholesterol naturally. It can be found in leafy greens, nuts, seeds, whole grains, organ meats, brewers yeast, lean meat, fish, eggs and milk. You probably can't get enough from what you eat to effect cholesterol levels so you may want to consider a supplement. The only side effect is that some people get flushed in the face but this goes away after about an hour and fades out over time.

Lecithin
Lecithin is reputed to naturally lower cholesterol by removing it from the blood and can also aid the liver and may help improve memory. It is found in liver meats and eggs but is also plentiful in dandelion greens. Since liver meats and eggs aren't good cholesterol lowering foods, you may want to consider a supplement for this one too.

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