If you have high cholesterol, your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes to help lower it. For instance, they may recommend changes to your diet, exercise habits, or other aspects of your daily routine. If you smoke, they will likely advise you to quit.
Your doctor may also prescribe medications or other treatments to help lower your cholesterol levels. In some cases, they may refer you to a specialist for more care.
Lowering cholesterol through diet
To help you achieve and maintain healthy cholesterol levels, your doctor may recommend changes to your diet.
For example, they may advise you to:
- limit your intake of foods that are high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and trans fats
- choose lean sources of protein, such as chicken, fish, and legumes
- eat a wide variety of high fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
- opt for baked, broiled, steamed, grilled, and roasted foods instead of fried foods
- avoid fast food and sugary, pre-packaged options when possible
Foods that are high in cholesterol, saturated fats, or trans fats include:
- red meat, organ meats, egg yolks, and high fat dairy products
- processed foods made with cocoa butter or palm oil
- deep-fried foods, such as potato chips, onion rings, and fried chicken
- certain baked goods, such as some cookies and muffins
Eating fish and other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids may also help lower your LDL levels. For example, salmon, mackerel, and herring are rich sources of omega-3s. Walnuts, almonds, ground flaxseeds, and avocados also contain omega-3s.
Cholesterol medications
In some cases, your doctor might prescribe medications to help lower your cholesterol levels.
Statins are the most commonly prescribed medications for high cholesterol. They block your liver from producing more cholesterol.
Examples of statins include:
- atorvastatin (Lipitor)
- fluvastatin (Lescol)
- rosuvastatin (Crestor)
- simvastatin (Zocor)
Your doctor may also prescribe other medications for high cholesterol, such as:
- niacin
- bile acid resins or sequestrants, such as colesevalam (Welchol), colestipol (Colestid), or cholestyramine (Prevalite)
- cholesterol absorption inhibitors, such as ezetimibe (Zetia)
- PCSK9 inhibitors, such as alirocumab (Praluent) and evolocumab (Repatha)
Some products contain a combination of drugs to help decrease your body’s absorption of cholesterol from foods and reduce your liver’s production of cholesterol. One example is a combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin (Vytorin). Learn more about the drugs used to treat high cholesterol.
Home remedies to lower cholesterol naturally
In some cases, you may be able to lower your cholesterol levels without taking medications. For example, it may be enough to eat a nutritious diet, exercise regularly, and avoid smoking tobacco products.
Some people also claim that certain herbal and nutritional supplements may help lower cholesterol levels. For instance, claims have been made about:
- garlic
- hawthorn
- astragalus
- red yeast rice
- plant sterol and stanol supplements
- blond psyllium, found in psyllium seed husk
- ground flaxseed
However, the level of evidence supporting these claims varies. Also, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved any of these products for treating high cholesterol. More research is needed to learn if they can help treat this condition.
Always talk with your doctor before taking any herbal or nutritional supplements. In some cases, they might interact with other medications you’re taking.
How to prevent high cholesterol?
To lower your risk of developing high cholesterol:
- Eat a nutritious diet that’s low in cholesterol and animal fats, and high in fiber.
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption.
- Maintain a moderate weight.
- Exercise regularly.
- Avoid smoking.
Follow your doctor’s recommendations for routine cholesterol screening. If you’re at risk of high cholesterol or coronary heart disease, they will likely encourage you to get your cholesterol levels tested on a regular basis.
Cholesterol Medication
Lifestyle changes, such as exercise and a healthy diet, are the first line of defense against high cholesterol. However, if you have made these important lifestyle changes and your cholesterol levels are still high, your doctor may recommend medication.
The choice of medication or combination of medications depends on a variety of factors, including your personal risk factors, your age, your health status and possible side effects of the medication. Common choices include.
Statins. Statins prevent the liver from making the substances it needs to make cholesterol. This causes your liver to remove cholesterol from your blood. Choices include atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Altoprev), pitavastatin (Livalo), pravastatin (Pravachol), resevastatin (Crestor), and simvastatin (Zocor).
Cholesterol absorption inhibitors. Your small intestine absorbs cholesterol from your diet and releases it into your bloodstream. The drug ezetimibe (Zetia) helps lower cholesterol in your blood by limiting the absorption of dietary cholesterol. Ezetimibe can be used with statin drugs.
Pebadoxic acid. This newer drug works in much the same way as a statin, but is less likely to cause muscle pain. Adding bempedoic acid (Nexletol) to the maximum dose of a statin can help significantly lower LDL. a combination pill containing bempedoic acid and ezetimibe (Nexlizet) can also be used.
Bile acid binding resin. Your liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, a substance needed for digestion. Prevalite, Welchol, and Colestid drugs indirectly lower cholesterol by binding to bile acids. This causes your liver to use excess cholesterol to make more bile acids, which lowers cholesterol levels in the blood.
PCSK9 inhibitors. These drugs help the liver take up more LDL cholesterol, which lowers the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood. Alirocumab (Praluent) and evolocumab (Repatha) may be used in people who have a genetic disorder that causes high levels of LDL or who have a history of coronary artery disease and are intolerant to statins or other cholesterol medications. They are given as subcutaneous injections every few weeks and are expensive.
References：
1. Cholesterol medications: Consider the options
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