by Mary Ellen Bingham, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.

Question How can you lower your cholesterol (slightly elevated) without taking prescription drugs?

—Susan, Florida, via "Ask the Doctor"

Answer An active lifestyle and healthy diet can go a long way. Master these, and your whole life might change—including cholesterol levels.

UP AND DOWN

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance—a lipid. It, along with proteins and other things, travels through the blood in little structures called lipoproteins. That’s what those terms you hear all the time refer to—HDL and LDL: high-density lipoprotein and lowdensity lipoprotein. (HDL has more protein; LDL has more cholesterol.)

LDL is the bad guy. It likes to make its home inside blood-vessel walls, which can narrow them and make them less flexible. HDL is the good guy. It shuffles cholesterol out of the bloodstream and into the liver.

Saturated fats are not the right ones, seeing as how they’re “used as the raw material for the liver to make cholesterol” and can therefore raise your LDL level, explains cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, M.D. , author of Dr. Nieca Goldberg's Complete Guide to Women's Health . Beware of red meat, butter, whole milk and other high-fat dairy products, and foods fried in coconut or palm oil.

Additionally, stay clear of trans fats. These can be a double whammy, raising your LDL level and lowering the HDL! You’ll find them in commercial baked goods such as cookies, cakes and donuts, as well as hard margarine and many French fries.

In contrast, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as those in fish, nuts and vegetable oils, are beneficial. They can help raise your HDL and lower the LDL. (Of course, remember that even the healthy fats are high in calories, so don’t overdo it!)

MORE GOOD THINGS
Regular exercise may increase HDLs, and smoke (first- or secondhand) may lower them. Soluble fiber, like that in oats, beans and certain fruits and vegetables, can bind to cholesterol and remove it from the body.

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