lipid.siteFood and lifestyle
Food and habits matter, for your cholesterol and for your arteries. See how each change works and roughly how much it helps on average.
Soluble fiber traps bile acids
Your liver turns cholesterol into bile acids and sends them to the gut to help digest fat. Most are reabsorbed and sent back. Soluble fiber forms a gel that traps some, so they leave the body. To make new bile acids, the liver uses more cholesterol and pulls more LDL out of the blood.
Approximate average effect
Pick one or more changes to see what studies found on average.
Averages, individual results vary. Studies summarized by the National Lipid Association and the American Heart Association give these rough, conservative ranges. Changes overlap, so treat the combined range as a guide. Genes matter a lot: with familial hypercholesterolemia, lifestyle alone rarely brings LDL to goal.
Key takeaways
- 1
Soluble fiber and less saturated fat both help the liver pull more LDL out of your blood. On average each lowers LDL-C by a few percent up to about 10%.
- 2
Triglycerides often respond more than LDL does. Losing some weight, moving more, and cutting back on alcohol and added sugar can lower them noticeably.
- 3
Lifestyle changes help everyone, alongside medicine or not. They usually lower LDL modestly, so many people, especially with high risk or FH, also need medicine to reach their goal.
Go deeper
▸How the numbers in the animation were chosen
They are conservative ranges from reviews by the National Lipid Association and the American Heart Association: about 3 to 5% lower LDL-C for 5 to 10 grams more soluble fiber a day, about 5 to 10% for cutting saturated fat to under about 7% of calories, and about 5 to 8% for losing around 10 pounds.
For triglycerides, losing 5 to 10% of body weight and regular aerobic exercise have each been linked to drops of roughly 10 to 20% on average, more when triglycerides start high. Responses vary a lot from person to person, and changes overlap, so effects don't simply add up.
▸Other food changes that can help
Plant sterols and stanols (added to some spreads and drinks) lower LDL-C modestly. Nuts, olive oil, fish, beans and whole grains fit a heart-healthy pattern such as a Mediterranean-style or DASH diet.
Cholesterol in food raises LDL less than saturated fat does for most people, but some people are more sensitive to it. Trans fats raise LDL and are now largely removed from US foods.
Added sugar, sweet drinks and refined carbohydrates mostly raise triglycerides. Very high triglycerides (over about 500 mg/dL) need medical care, as they can inflame the pancreas.
▸Smoking, sleep and stress
Quitting smoking barely changes LDL, yet few steps do more for your heart. The artery lining starts to recover, blood becomes less likely to clot, and heart attack risk falls within a few years. Free help is available at 1-800-QUIT-NOW in the US.
Good sleep and managing stress help blood pressure and make other changes easier to keep up.
What people experienced
One person's experience isn't a prediction of yours.
Sources
- Prevention and treatment of high cholesterol, American Heart Association
- Saturated fat, American Heart Association
- Recommendations for physical activity in adults, American Heart Association
- National Lipid Association, National Lipid Association
- How to lower cholesterol with diet, MedlinePlus (NIH)
- Triglycerides, MedlinePlus (NIH)
- Blood cholesterol, NHLBI (NIH)
- Quitting smoking, MedlinePlus (NIH)
Not medical advice. This exhibit is general education to help you understand your condition and talk with your clinician. It doesn't tell you what to take or change. If you have chest pain or other signs of a heart attack or stroke, call 911.
Want everything in one place? Play the full interactive guide.