Lifestyle

• Getting out and getting active is the first and foremost step in lowering cholesterol. Any activity that keeps you moving for at least a half-hour each day will help you lose weight and feel better. This, along with diet modifications, can help you burn excess fat and reduce cholesterol levels. Choosing to take the stairs or take the dog for a walk around the block are important steps in reducing bad cholesterol levels. Gardening, housecleaning and washing your car are all simple activities that accomplish more than just aesthetics in your home: they promote good health.
  
  

Aerobic

• Aerobic exercise stimulates enzymes that take bad cholesterol to the liver where it is used to create bile for digestion. This helps metabolize and dispose of the cholesterol, getting it out of your system. Exercise also helps to increase the size of proteins, lipoproteins that carry the cholesterol in the body. In doing so, these molecules are less likely to create build-up on arterial walls. Choosing an exercise that you love and can do for 30 minutes several times a week will improve your heart's muscular strength while reducing cholesterol levels. Walking (vigorously), jogging, biking, swimming and tennis are great sports to accomplish this.
  
  

Weight Training

• When you work with weights, you improve muscle mass. Your body burns fat easier and metabolizes calories more effectively. A weight-training program not only makes you feel stronger but improves your overall metabolic function. Combining a weight program with aerobic activities will improve circulation, reduce fat reserves and help move cholesterol to the liver where it can be processed and eliminated.