/4 Steps to Naturally Lower Cholesterol

4 Steps to Naturally Lower Cholesterol

Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, doctor of natural medicine and founder of DrAxe.com. In this video, I’m going to share with you the four steps to naturally lower cholesterol levels, also talk about a healthy cholesterol diet, as well as the best supplements in natural remedies for lowering cholesterol. So starting off, the number one thing you need to start doing if you want to lower your cholesterol fast . . . by the way, in just three months, you can dramatically lower your cholesterol, your LDL and raise your HDL, that good cholesterol, if you follow the advice in this video. So again, the number one thing you’ve got to do is add in these five categories of super foods. Number one, you’ve got to get more omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, especially EPA, DHA, which is found from consuming wild-caught fish. If you just add wild caught salmon into your diet, twice a week, you’re going to see some tremendous health benefits there, getting more of those omega-3s, also other fish like wild caught tuna and mackerel are fantastic fish as well.

If you’re not a fish person, you can get some omega-3 fatty acids by consuming grass-fed beef, as well as consuming things like grass-fed lamb, venison, organic eggs, and some other omega-3 rich foods, in terms of meat products. But again, wild caught fish, especially salmon, is one of the best. The number two super food is going to be foods high in soluble fiber, specifically berries, as well as green, leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables. And seeds, such as flax and chia seeds. One quick tip, every morning, consume a super food smoothie, add in a cup of berries, along with a little bit coconut milk and two tablespoons of either flax seeds or chia seeds. If you do that, you’re getting a good amount of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber can help cleanse the colon and also helps the growth of probiotics in your gut, which is crucial to overall health, as well as lowering cholesterol levels. And so again, step number one, get the omega-3, step number two, get soluble fiber. Step number three, add in some extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil contains polyphenols, Vitamin E, and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, that has been shown to naturally raise HDL.

That’s the good cholesterol in your body that’s linked with increasing your lifespan and anti-aging. So again, one to two tablespoons of olive oil a day, drizzle it on your chicken, drizzle it on your salad, add it to, let’s say, a hummus recipe, but get a little bit of that good quality olive oil. The number four food you want to be adding in if you want to naturally lower your cholesterol levels is going to be herbs, specifically turmeric, basil and rosemary. Turmeric has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, and so, again, if you want to really want to reduce inflammation in the body . . . by the way, that’s the cause of your high cholesterol. If you want to know why your cholesterol is high, it’s chronic inflammation.

Cholesterol is not even the bad thing, it’s that you have inflammation in your arteries and then your liver starts producing cholesterol to patch and repair your damaged arteries. And so really, the high cholesterol is just the symptom of an inflammatory diet. So turmeric, what I do is, I take about a teaspoon of turmeric, I sprinkle it on my salads. If you’re making homemade burgers or chicken, I use it as the breading on chicken, or I put it in the burger meat, maybe a little bit of cumin and that there. When I’m making chicken, I sprinkle on some rosemary. And of course, basil, what an amazing seasoning, it’s great on everything. And so again, adding those medicinal herbs in are fantastic for naturally supporting your body in healing there as well.

And the next thing you want to do is step number one is adding in those healing foods. The second thing you want to do is remove certain foods that cause inflammation, that cause your cholesterol level, your LDL to increase. Number one is going to be sugar. That surprises some people. Most of us think, “Oh, well, it’s fat or high cholesterol foods like egg yolks that will cause my cholesterol to raise. In fact, if you’re eating healthy, real egg yolks, just one or two a day, they actually won’t cause your cholesterol to increase. In fact, they’ll increase your good cholesterol, your HDL. But again, back to this point, is that sugar is the worst thing you can consume, processed sugar, when it comes to increasing your cholesterol levels. So nix sugar from your diet. Number two, eliminate conventional grains. Now, a little bit of true whole grains, like a sprouted oatmeal on occasion or a true, let’s say, a good quality brown rice, on occasion, doing those things in small amounts here and there maybe one service of grains a day for some people, that’s going to be okay. But if you’re doing any wheat products like wheat bread, any traditional cereals or white flour products, those are highly inflammatory and are going to cause your cholesterol levels to skyrocket.

So again, stay away from those. Also, excess alcohol causes cholesterol to increase, excess caffeine, as well as hydrogenated oils like canola oil or any sort of fats that are added to things like salad dressings or pasta sauces. Staying away from those is essential to lowering your cholesterol levels. Step number three, you’ve got to take the right supplements. My top two number one is a quality fish oil supplement. Again, you’ve got to be careful with supplements. Stay away from those cheap brands. Invest in a high quality brand of a fish oil or cod liver oil. But fish oil is great, those omega-3 fats can help lower cholesterol. My number two supplement for lowering cholesterol is taking Coenzyme-Q10, and this is very important, especially if you’re a person who is taking a statin drug like, or any sort of cholesterol-lowering medication.

You want to make sure to talk with your doctor about taking a Coenzyme-Q10 or ubiquinol supplement, typically, 200 milligrams daily is so important for your heart health. Number four step here, is if you want to lower your cholesterol, you’ve got to get out and move and exercise. And I’m not talking . . . listen, you don’t need to exercise an hour a day. You need to exercise an hour a week, that’s it, 20 minutes, three times a week, can get you in great shape. You want to find a great fitness program. I’ve got a program called Burst Fit, just do a Google search for Burst Training or Dr. Axe Burst Training. You can find the exact type of exercise I recommend that will help lower your cholesterol the most rapidly. And you can actually lower cholesterol by exercising, just even as little as two to four weeks if you’re doing the right type of exercise. But even walking is good, in general just getting up and moving is crucial.

And then my last one is my bonus tip, take a detox bath at night, work on reducing stress, look at your schedule, start scheduling in tons of relaxation, tons of fun, and take a detox bath at night with some lavender essential oils and Epsom salts. Epsom salts are high in magnesium, which can help lower cholesterol, lavender oils helps relax the body, lower cortisone, which can lower cholesterol levels. So three nights a week, take a 20 minute bath and add some Epsom salts and essential oils like lavender. If you follow those five steps, I guarantee, you’re going to see your cholesterol levels lower fast. Guys, I hope you’ve enjoyed this video. This has been myself, Dr. Axe, talking about natural ways to lower cholesterol. And by the way, if you want more of these tips, make sure you go to my website, DrAxe.com, or just search Dr. Axe cholesterol. I’ve got some articles, if you want a written outline of what you’ve heard on this video. Also, I’ve got more videos coming out with natural remedies if you want to subscribe here to my YouTube channel. Hey guys, thanks for watching..

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