Researches have found out high levels of blood cholesterol to be behind fatal heart diseases like angina, coronary heart disease, heart strokes and heart attacks. High level of LDL cholesterol in the blood results in plaques (deposits of cholesterol along with waste materials and fat). The plaque that gets deposited on the arterial walls hinders the passage of blood in the heart and the condition is known as atherosclerosis. The walls of the arteries get hardened as a result of atherosclerosis.

Coronary artery disease is another ailment that occurs due to atherosclerosis and affects the coronary arteries which in turn makes a person prone to heart attacks. The blood vessels of the brain also gets affected due to atherosclerosis and results into a condition commonly known as Cerebral vascular disease. The above condition can also affect the normal blood flow to other organs like liver, kidney and intestine. So it is imperative to keep a tab on the blood cholesterol levels so as to avoid heart ailments.

First let us see how the level of LDL cholesterol rises. Some of the major reasons are Overweight, Unhealthy diet, Low physical activity and Age. The following tips will come in handy to control the excess blood cholesterol:

a) Include foods that contain low cholesterol like green vegetable, fruits, whole grains (cereals and brown bread), fish and legumes.

b) Maintain a diet that has foods with lower trans and saturated fats. You can even include foods with high content of unsaturated fats like using olive oil instead of vegetable oil, butter or margarine for cooking.

c) Incorporate lean meat in your diet. Try to shred the fat before cooking the food and drain the excess fat with the help of tissue papers.

d) Do not eat fried foods while incorporating baked and boiled foods in your diets. You can even follow roasting, poaching, or steaming for your food.

e) Include low fat milk products which have rich content of nutrients. You can also go for non fat cheese and yogurt. Cut down on the recipes which include cheese or butter.

f) Try to exclude meat from your diet and instead go for lentils, tofu, peas or beans.

g) Include margarine that is fee from trans fat.

h) Egg whites are fine but discard the yolk as it is rich in fat and cholesterol.

i) Do not eat junk or canned foods. These are prepared with hydrogenated oils and contain trans fats.

j) Go for the green vegetables and fruits as snacks instead of the fried foods.

k) Exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. This regimen will help in lowering body fat as well as cholesterol levels of the blood. Exercise also helps to release mental stress which in turn will reduce cholesterol formation.

All these tips will help you to get rid of the extra blood cholesterol and thus you can successfully avoid any health ailments in the future.