Exercising and lowering cholesterol level

Whether your goal is to lower your cholesterol, shed some extra pounds, or both, regular exercise can help you get there. One study suggests that walks of any duration may help reduce heart disease risk. For the study, British researchers recruited 56 sedentary people between ages 40 and 66, then divided them into three groups. One group took a long, 20- to 40-minute walk each day; another group walked for 10 to 15 minutes twice a day; and the third group took 5- to 10-minute walks three times a day.

Over the 18 weeks of the study, the once-a-day walkers saw their LDL cholesterol drop by 8.3 percent; the twice-a-day walkers by 5.8 percent. The researchers concluded that walks of any length can be beneficial, as long as they're done at a moderate intensity—that is, a brisk pace at which you can still carry on a conversation.

Losing weight and lowering cholesterol

According to the American Heart Association, people who have a total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) are twice as likely to experience a heart attack as people who have a cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL. Generally, doctors like to see total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL, with LDL (bad cholesterol) below 130—the high end of the "near-optimal" range—and HDL (good cholesterol) above 40

If you weigh more than you should, slimming down may produce a significant drop in your cholesterol level. Research suggests that being overweight disrupts the normal metabolism of dietary fat. So even though you may be eating less fat, you may not see a difference in your cholesterol profile until you unload the excess pounds.In fact, shedding just 5 to 10 pounds may be enough to improve your cholesterol level. Just don't go the crash-dieting route. A slow but steady loss of 1/2 to 1 pound a week is healthiest and easiest to maintain. Since 1 pound equals 3,500 calories, you could meet the pound-per-week rate by eating 500 fewer calories per day, burning 500 more calories per day through exercise, or—the best option—a combination of the two.

Findings from the landmark Framingham Heart Study confirm that such modest weight loss is worth the effort, for reasons beyond cholesterol control. According to the study, taking off—and keeping off—just 1 to 2 pounds a year may reduce your risk of high blood pressure by 25 percent and your risk of diabetes by 35 percent.