New Delhi: Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced by your liver and obtained by eating animal products such as meat, dairy, and eggs. High cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Medications can help improve your cholesterol. But if you’d rather first make lifestyle changes to improve your cholesterol, try these five healthy changes.
- Follow the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Diet to lower cholesterol. It’s custom-designed to help you maintain a healthy weight.
- Read the labels carefully! That package of pasta may say it’s only 330 calories a serving, but did you notice that there are three servings in the package?
- It’s okay to snack between meals on a diet to lower cholesterol. In fact, eating five or six small meals a day instead of three large ones can help you avoid “crashing” between meals and overeating. Stock up on healthy snacks like carrot sticks, apples, and blueberries one of the top health “superfoods.”
- Switch from white bread, bagels, and regular pasta to whole-wheat varieties on a diet to lower cholesterol. They tend to be lower in calories, and they have more heart-healthy fiber.
- Don’t drink your calories. Cut back on soda, juice, and alcohol. Hydrate with water instead. If you must drink soda, a switch to diet soda will save you hundreds of calories.
- Close the night kitchen. Mindlessly snacking in front of the TV after dinner is the source of many an empty calorie. Close the kitchen at a certain time say, two to three hours before you go to bed — and don’t open the fridge or the cupboards after that time.
