Lowering cholesterol: Five mistakes and three tips – This is what you can do yourself if your cholesterol level is too high

Fortunately, this is not true. There are even fatty foods like nuts that can help lower cholesterol levels. That’s why former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his wife have nuts on their breakfast table every day!

Other foods – such as toast or pasta – contain hardly any fat, but are converted by the body into triglycerides (the most important blood fats, along with cholesterol), which can clog the arteries or be stored in fatty tissue. So it’s important to take a closer look!

The German Nutrition Society recommends limiting daily fat intake to 60 to 80 grams of fat per day. In fact, Germans consume an average of around 100 to 120 grams. Are you one of them?

This amount is quickly reached when you consider that a bratwurst with fries and mayo already contains 87 grams of fat. The recommended daily ration is already covered with a bar of chocolate and 100 grams of chips!

Fortunately, we now know that this is not true. Eggs are quite healthy because they contain high-quality protein, fat and few carbohydrates. They also provide us with various vitamins such as A, D and B12 as well as folic acid, sodium, calcium and more.

Simply avoiding foods containing cholesterol – for example eggs – hardly changes the cholesterol value. However, dosing protein correctly remains important!

Well, cholesterol really has a really bad image. Surprising for many: Cholesterol is essential for life. The body needs blood fat to build cell walls, form vitamin D and produce hormones, such as the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone.

Too much – especially of the “wrong” LDL cholesterol – is still not good. We explain here how you can find out what the situation is for you.

Many people who have high blood lipid levels are prescribed medication by their doctor – so-called statins. This sounds reasonable at first, because their effectiveness has been proven by numerous independent studies.

However, more exercise and a change in diet should always precede medication. This means that the values ​​can definitely be reduced and tablets may no longer be necessary.

If cholesterol levels are permanently elevated and other risk factors are present, treatment with medication is often necessary. However, it is important to keep in mind that statins increase the risk of diabetes because they can increase blood sugar levels.

It is worth taking a look at the differences: Cholesterol is a blood fat that is LDL (low-density lipoproteins) and HDL (high-density lipoproteins). About three quarters are produced by the body, the rest we get from food.

LDL is considered the “bad” cholesterolThe value should be low because: Increased LDL cholesterol is deposited in the walls of the blood vessels and leads to arteriosclerosis. As a result, the vessels narrow, less blood passes through and the tissue is not supplied with enough oxygen. The consequences are angina pectoris, heart attack, stroke or dementia.

A sufficiently high HDL value, on the other hand, is favorable: It transports excess cholesterol from the vessel wall back to the liver to convert it into bile acid and excrete it.

Not always: Contrary to popular belief, there are also overweight people with normal cholesterol levels and slim people with high cholesterol levels. The most recent example: the very slim wife of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who had higher cholesterol levels than her husband despite a healthy diet – and has now gotten this under control with exercise and a targeted diet!

So what could be the reason why a person is slim, eats healthily and yet still has values ​​that are too high? Then the high cholesterol level could be inherited – this is then called hypercholesterolemia.

According to a Danish study, it affects approximately one in 300 people worldwide, but only about 15 percent of those affected are aware of their disease and the associated risks.

Tip 1: How to assess your own cholesterol levels

To determine whether you have an elevated cholesterol level, it is sufficient to have your blood cholesterol levels measured. Total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol as well as triglycerides are examined for the diagnosis.

A cheap option is Total cholesterol level of less than 200 mg/dl and a LDL cholesterol level of less than 115 mg/dl.

What’s also worth it for you: Looking at the ratio of the two types of cholesterol to each other, the so-called LDL/HDL ratio: If there are no other risk factors, this value should be below 4.

Tip 2: With these simple nutritional tips you can keep your cholesterol under control

Good to know: With a balanced diet, blood fat levels and other health risks such as high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes can be positively influenced!

• Remove the pieces of fat from the meat and do not eat them
• Buy dairy products with reduced fat and pay attention to sugar in the ingredients
• It is better to cook food in the oven instead of frying it in a pan – this also saves fat
• Use coated pans – this way you have to use less fat
• Favorite trick: Add the food after the fat has heated up in the pan – this way the food absorbs less of it.

You’ve probably already guessed: Diet is only one side of the coin – abstaining from alcohol, avoiding smoking, regular exercise and weight loss are other pillars on which a low cholesterol value is based.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 2.5 to 5 hours of physical activity per week – such as walking, swimming or cycling!