Maintaining cholesterol level is an extremely important issue: the proper functioning of blood vessels and the body’s resistance to various serious diseases depend on it.
According to the Spanish Heart Foundation, “blood cholesterol rises if our body produces a lot of cholesterol or if we eat a diet rich in saturated fat. Having high levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides and/or LDL cholesterol increases the risk of having a heart attack. Cholesterol is deposited on the wall of the arteries, causing them to narrow.
According to the study of the universities of Granada and Castilla – La Mancha, physical exercise and the pharmacological polypill are two effective strategies to improve cholesterol and triglycerides. However, the practice of exercise has an additional advantage: it has no side effects.
“What is really interesting about the study is that taking a drug always has side effects, while exercise does not,” explains the researcher from the Department of Physical and Sports Education of the UGR Francisco Amaro, reported Sputnik.
Additionally, physical exercise contributes to other health parameters such as physical condition, blood pressure, body weight or blood glucose levels.
Lifestyle
In her program for the Perviy channel, the Russian doctor Elena Malisheva shared her vision of how to lower cholesterol. In particular, weight loss is of paramount importance to lower cholesterol levels. She emphasized that with a weight loss of just 5%, cholesterol is reduced by an average of 8%.
In addition, Malisheva noted that physical activity can lower cholesterol by another 2%. She clarified that losing weight and exercising together already reduce cholesterol by 10%. The third most important way is a drop in blood sugar levels. Thanks to this, cholesterol levels can drop another 6%.
Malisheva also called for consuming salmon, which is rich in omega-3 unsaturated acids, which is very effective in fighting cholesterol. Due to its use, according to the doctor, a 7% reduction in cholesterol can be achieved, and it also normalizes blood pressure.
The specialist concluded that normal cholesterol levels can only be achieved through changes in lifestyle. JR/JML