5 Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol

Optimal levels are as follows, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: about 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) for total cholesterol; about 100 mg/dL for LDL (“bad” cholesterol); and greater than or equal to 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women for HDL (“good” cholesterol). Triglyceride levels should be less than 150 mg/dL.

One interesting influence: Your cholesterol can rise and fall with the seasons, though “this is not something that’s learned in [medical] school,” Watson says. “Everyone’s cholesterol levels tend to be a little higher in the winter and a little bit lower in the summer,” she says, adding that this difference isn’t due to more decadent eating habits in the wintertime.

“Even when they have a controlled diet, they see that there’s just this natural tendency ... [and it’s] not by a lot, you know, maybe 5 percent. But it could be noticeable.”

Regardless of the season, knowing your numbers can clue you in on your risks, some of which you can manage with everyday actions.

1. Make unfiltered coffee a treat

Espresso, Turkish and French press coffee can spike your cholesterol, because these drinks are prepared without a filter, which allows diterpenes, a chemical compound, to enter your body.

Watson says the impact can be “significant,” raising cholesterol “about 10 to 15 percent.” She describes one of her patients as a coffee connoisseur — but when she indulges herself with French press coffee, “her numbers go significantly up.” Once she starts drinking “drip coffee, they go down again,” Watson says. So it’s best to think of unfiltered coffee as a treat, not a mainstay.

2. Eggs are OK — cheese and butter, not so much

There’s good news about a different breakfast food: eggs. For decades, people watching their cholesterol were cautioned against eating them, due to their high cholesterol content. But now experts say that eating an egg a day likely won’t do much harm when it comes to your cholesterol levels.

Recent studies have found that some high-cholesterol foods, like eggs and shellfish, may not impact your risk for heart disease as much as others, like fried foods (see below).

Just remember to watch how those eggs are prepared. In omelets, for example, that cheese and butter are full of something that does raise cholesterol: saturated fat. The same goes for the bacon and sausage that are often served alongside your eggs.

3. Help your body make more ‘good’ cholesterol

If you are overweight, smoke, or sit too much and move too little, your body will likely have less “good” (HDL) cholesterol.

On the other hand, if you quit smoking, maintain a healthy weight and get enough exercise — research suggests something like “moderate” activity, which is about 30 minutes a day, five days a week — your good (HDL) cholesterol levels will get better. No gym membership required: Walk the dog at a quick pace, ride your bike to work or try something else that you can stick with.

Like a lack of exercise, smoking lowers your “good” cholesterol (HDL); it can also raise your triglycerides.

4. Eat fewer fried and fatty foods

Unfiltered coffee and cheesy omelets aren’t the only hazard at brunch. Watch out for high-fat baked goods like muffins, waffles, pancakes and chocolate croissants. “Unfortunately, people often [drink] the French press [coffee] with the baked goods,” Watson points out.

Row after row of grocery store shelves is devoted to the type of tasty treats that are tempting but not good for your cholesterol: ice cream, cookies and the like.

Other seemingly innocuous foods are risky if you eat too much of them — take, for example, full-fat dairy and red meat. There are at least two reasons why: saturated fats and trans fats (which may be called partially hydrogenated oil on packaged foods). Both of these can raise the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood.

For people with high triglycerides, “eating the appropriate food (salmon, vegetables, foods low in sugar, for example) can reduce triglycerides by 30 percent or more,” Newman says. If you eat too many carbohydrates or drink too much alcohol on a regular basis, cutting back may also lower your triglycerides, though more research is needed.

A very high level of triglycerides “may lead to inflammation of the pancreas,” Newman notes, as well as liver and/or kidney disease, hypothyroidism and diabetes. High triglyceride levels have also been linked with heart disease.

5. Take your cholesterol-lowering medicine exactly as prescribed

Statins — medications used to lower bad cholesterol and reduce a patient’s risk of having a heart attack or a stroke — can be effective, “even in people over the age of 75,” Newman says.

“If your risk [for heart-related issues] is going up every year that you age and your cholesterol is going up every year that you age, most older people will be recommended to start a statin,” Watson adds.

It’s crucial to take these medications exactly as your doctor prescribes them, typically every day. What’s more, never stop a statin medication without consulting with your doctor, Newman says.