Having high cholesterol is bad because it raises your risk of heart attack and stroke.
So it's natural to wonder, "How can I lower my cholesterol?"
But there's more to your heart attack and stroke risk than just your cholesterol numbers.
Your risk also includes things like your blood pressure and whether you have diabetes.
So why not choose an approach that can help with any risk factors you may have?
A heart-healthy life can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and help manage diabetes ...
And reducing those risk factors can help lower your heart attack and stroke risk.
A heart-healthy life includes being active, eating well, not smoking, and staying at a healthy weight.
If you need to get to a healthy weight, then eating heart-healthy and being active can help you do that.
There are lots of fun ways to be more active ... like walking, dancing, swimming, or biking.
It's a good idea to choose something you really enjoy, because you're more likely to stay with it.
It's also a good idea to talk with your doctor about how much activity is safe for you.
A healthy goal is about 2 1/2 hours of moderate exercise a week ...
That's about 30 minutes, 5 times a week.
Heart-healthy eating can help you too.
It's not a traditional diet where you count calories.
Instead, you focus on choosing foods that give you more nutrients and help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy.
Things like fresh fruits and vegetables ... whole grains ...
fish ... lean meats ... and nonfat dairy.
It's not easy to change eating and exercise habits that you've had for years.
But it can help if you stop and think about why making these changes is important to you.
Then you can figure out what your goals are and what will motivate you to reach them.
