Step 6: Maintain healthy habits
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There are steps that everyone can take to help prevent heart disease and heart attack. Here's the bottom line:

If your cholesterol levels are high, these recommendations are very important steps for bringing your cholesterol under control. (And if your cholesterol levels are ok now -- congratulations! But these steps still help prevent heart disease down the road.)

We know that it can be tough to make changes to your lifestyle. Below are some guidelines for building healthy habits.

Choose foods low in saturated fat

Food labels are one of the best tools for eating healthy. For lowering cholesterol, pay particular attention to these items on the label:

Of these, the most important by far is saturated fat. (Calories are important for weight control, which is described later in this step.)

On the food label, look at the column called "%DV". This stands for "Percent Daily Value." As an example, if the food label for a candy bar says "60%" next to saturated fat, that means you are getting 60% of that day's entire recommended allowance of saturated fat in just one serving of that candy bar. Keep track of what you eat over the day, and try to stay below a total of 100%.

Here are some other considerations about food labels:

More tips for healthy eating

Foods to avoid

Exercise regularly

You knew regular physical activity was good for you, but did you know that it helps keep your cholesterol levels healthy? It can actually help raise HDL (good) cholesterol and lower total and LDL (bad) cholesterol. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days. Exercising also helps you lose weight, lowers your blood pressure, strengthens your heart and blood vessels, and reduces stress.

Start your exercise program slowly. Work to build your endurance up to 60 minutes a day. In the beginning, splitting it up into 20-minute segments may work best. Consider joining a health club, YMCA, or other exercise group to help you stay motivated.

You should check with your health care provider for exercise suggestions appropriate for you.

Try:

Lose excess weight

Overweight people tend to have higher cholesterol levels than people who maintain a healthy weight. Losing weight can help to lower your LDL cholesterol. For people who have multiple risk factors for heart disease (such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure), losing weight is especially important.

For people with large waists (35 inches or more in women; 40 inches or more in men) losing weight is important. When excess weight is concentrated in the abdominal area, your risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure increases significantly.

The healthiest and longest-lasting weight loss happens slowly, by losing 1 - 2 pounds a week. If you cut 500 calories a day by eating less or burn an additional 500 calories per day by increasing your physical activity, you should lose 1 pound (equal to about 3,500 calories) a week.

Check with your health care provider for weight-loss recommendations. Losing 10% of your weight may improve your cholesterol levels. (For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, dropping 20 pounds can help your cholesterol.)

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Review Date: 12/31/2012
Reviewed By: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, FACC Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College; Private Practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease in Greenwich, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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