Lowering Cholesterol Levels - Powerful Natural Ways to Reduce High Cholesterol

For many of us, when we first learned that we have high cholesterol our first thoughts are to turn to cholesterol medication for lowering cholesterol levels. This is due to the fact that we respect the opinion of our doctors and statin drugs are typically the first thing they recommend.

However, if you are aware of the side effects of these strong medications, then you know that they should only be left as a last resort. Some of these side effects are extremely severe including the chance of permanent damage to the kidneys and liver. As many as 25% of individuals on these drugs end up not being able to tolerate them due to the damage they cause to muscles.

Considering how effective dietary changes are for lowering high cholesterol, it makes sense to learn about the best changes you can make in your diet to lower cholesterol. The two most effective things you can do to reduce high cholesterol are:

1. Reduce the amounts of saturated fats in your diet. High-fat meats such as beef and pork translate directly into higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels. However, the opposite is also true. By eliminating these types of foods from your diet, you will quickly experience a drop in LDL cholesterol as well as your triglyceride readings.
2. Increase the amounts of vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains. These are all high fiber foods that also contain high amounts of plant sterols. There is a wealth of scientific evidence supporting the fact that fiber helps eliminate cholesterol from the intestines. At the same time, plant sterols block the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream.

Lowering cholesterol levels using this type of natural approach will actually do much more than reduce cholesterol readings. Cutting back on saturated fats and increasing the amounts of high nutrient foods such as these will remove that sluggish feeling that many individuals with high cholesterol experience.

Cholesterol-lowering foods have been shown to be just as effective (and sometimes more so) than statin drugs for reducing high cholesterol. I invite you to visit my website where I include a thorough discussion of lowering cholesterol levels using food, diets, and nutritional supplements.

Van Crawford has been researching health related issues for more than eight years. He shares his research into natural ways to lower cholesterol levels on his website, http://www.Lowering-Cholesterol-Resources.com. To learn more about effective ways to lower your cholesterol and to learn how Van was able to lower his cholesterol without the use of medication, visit his website now.