Food & Drink

Beyond Diet

Other Ways to Manage High Cholesterol

By Fiona Haynes, About.com Guide

See More About:

Eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet is one step on the road to managing cholesterol, but what else can you do to help keep your cholesterol levels in check? If you’re trying to avoid cholesterol-lowering medication, you may be considering taking certain dietary supplements. If so, About's Guide to Cholesterol takes a look at what works and what doesn't. Other factors that can affect cholesterol include exercise, alcohol consumption, and whether or not you smoke. Let's take a closer look at the impact of these lifestyle choices.

How Exercise Can Lower Cholesterol

The benefits of exercise are well documented. Not only can exercise help with weight management, heart health, stress management, and bone and muscle strength, it can also play a role in lowering bad cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol. How much exercise do you need, and what kind of exercise works best?

Ways to Fit Exercise Into Your Daily Routine

Most of us agree that doing some kind of exercise is a good thing. The problem many of us face is finding the time to do it. There are plenty of ways to fit some kind of exercise into your daily routine. Our Cholesterol Guide shows us how.

Ways to Raise HDL Cholesterol

Raising your levels of good cholesterol to help combat heart disease is possible in a variety of ways. Find out how to adjust your lifestyle to improve your levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.

How Smoking Causes High Cholesterol

Smoking is directly linked to a number of adverse health conditions. It might be obvious to see the link between smoking and lung disease or cancer, but it might not be so easy to understand how it can impact cholesterol. Here's how.

Can Alcohol Lower Cholesterol?

You might assume that alcohol consumption would have a negative effect on cholesterol, but the reverse may be true, depending on what and how much you drink.

Natural Alternatives to Cholesterol Medication

You may be interested in trying some natural alternatives to cholesterol medication. Some supplements have been shown to lower high cholesterol to some degree. Whether or not this is a suitable path for you depends on how high your cholesterol is and what kinds of supplements your physician would approve.

Which Nutritional Supplements Lower Cholesterol?

Choosing a natural supplement should be done in conjunction with your doctor's advice, as there are many supplements to choose from, some of which may not work, and others that have certain side effects or contra-indications.