How to lower your cholesterol – lifestyle

Stress can play a big part in elevated cholesterol levels.  Sometimes you may not even be aware that you’re stressed.  This the tricky part because if you don’t realise when you’re in “flight or fight” syndrome, you can’t do anything to stop your body releasing cortisol (via your cholesterol) into your bloodstream.

If your stress remains constant then your liver has to make additional cholesterol in order to produce more cortisol (in response to the stress) thus raising your cholesterol levels.

So how can you manage this stress response?

Exercise.  A study published by Research Quarterly for Exercise investigated the effects of regular exercise on cholesterol levels with 20 men over 20 consecutive years.   As little as 30 minutes of exercise three times a week was enough to increase the HDL “the good cholesterol” levels and with 45 minutes of exercise for three to four times a week, all participants had an improvement in all blood lipid levels, including an increase in HDL and lower LDL ratio.

Breathe.  As previously mentioned, stress triggers the release of cortisol to boost your energy in order to “fight or flight”.  However, if your battles are mental and you’re not physically fighting or running away from danger, then you can calm yourself by focussing on your breathing.

A proven method to turn off your stress response is to nasal breathe.  Find a quiet space if you can, sit on a chair in a comfortable position.  Close your eyes, rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth, gently close your lips and breathe in slowly through your nose and breathe out slowly through your nose.  Repeat this at least three times.  This encourages a feeling of calm and relaxation and within a minute you have turned off your “flight or fight” mechanism.

Meditate.  To clear your mind, to calm your thoughts and to balance your body.  If you’re new to meditation find a course and get started now!   Meditation has been proven to help reduce stress which, in turn, can lower your cholesterol levels.  Other benefits of meditation are improved focus, clearer thinking and better sleep.

Sleep.  Make sure you get a good night’s sleep as researchers have found that too little sleep (less than 6 hours a night) can lead to high levels of HDL according to a study published by the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.  If sleep is a problem for you then you may need a Sleep Tonic to help you drift off into a peaceful slumber.  A herbal Sleep Tonic made specially for you can work wonders!

If you would like any diet, lifestyle or herbal advice, feel free to contact tracie@thewellnesscompany.com.au as I’d love to help!