Cholesterol and Exercise

What are the tricks to reduce cholesterol? When we are talking about cholesterol, we have to know that there are two main types of cholesterol; bad cholesterol and good cholesterol. We are hoping that bad cholesterol will be reduced and good cholesterol will be increased. Instead of healthy eating, exercise can be a vital tool in lowering bad cholesterol. There are many ways of exercise such as walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking and yoga which appear to give impact in lowering bad cholesterol.

Start wearing your sport shoes

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is a common known of bad cholesterol. It is one of the causes of heart diseases. However, high density lipoprotein (HDL) is a good cholesterol which helps preventing diseases. Most studies have shown that aerobic exercises able to reduce LDL by 5% to 10% as well as increase HDL by 3% to 6%. In other study, a 12-week endurance exercise reduced small, dense LDL by up to 17%. 

Most studies suggest aerobic exercise is the best way of reducing LDL. Aerobic exercise can enhance the transport of bad cholesterol from other parts of the body to liver. At the liver, the bad cholesterol will eventually be excreted. In other study, it is reported that 8-12 weeks of endurance exercise may reduce the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. People are recommended to do 150 minutes of exercise per week. The decreasing of LDL can give benefits to health especially our heart.

One study has shown the level of LDL was significantly reduced among women and men in diet-plus-exercise group with a decrease of 14.5mg/dL and 20mg/dL respectively. There is less significant changes occurred when people only control their eating without exercise. The study highlights the engagement of aerobic exercise with healthy diet to lower LDL cholesterol level in women and men. 

To do an exercise is not as easy as ABC. What we need to do at first is to start out slowly. If you are overweight or obese, start with walking. If possible, record your daily physical activity and be more discipline and punctual. Gradually increase the intensity and length of workouts. Keep your exercise interesting by listening to your favorite songs. If the weather does not allow you to do outdoor exercise, go to gym or do simple exercise at home. Make sure you are consistent with exercise. Or else, it will waste your time.  

References:

Jennifer Moll. (2011). Why Exercise Should Be an Important Part of Your Cholesterol-Lowering Plan. Cholesterol, About.com 

Stefanick, M.L., et al. (1998). Effects of Diet and Exercise in Men and Postmenopausal Women with Low Levels of HDL Cholesterol and High Levels of LDL Cholesterol. N Engl J Med 1998; 339:12-20