• Home
  • News
  • World
  • Politics
  • Money
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Travel
  • More
    • Tech
    • Web Stories
    • Spotlight
    • Press Release
What's On

Top jockey handed monster 25-year ban after being found guilty of sexual misconduct

22 October 2025

KISS star Ace Frehley’s death ‘being investigated’ with toxicology report ordered

22 October 2025

Celebrity Traitors star David Olusoga confirms even more tour dates, with tickets out now

22 October 2025

Baby P mum Tracey Connelly visited a sex club when she was released from prison

22 October 2025

Inside La Santé prison where Nicolas Sarkozy faces years in isolation

22 October 2025

Labour slams Farage over Putin praise: ‘What’s really inside Reform’s energy plan?’

22 October 2025

Covid Inquiry reveals ‘forgotten’ children left disabled by Long Covid

22 October 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Trending
  • Top jockey handed monster 25-year ban after being found guilty of sexual misconduct
  • KISS star Ace Frehley’s death ‘being investigated’ with toxicology report ordered
  • Celebrity Traitors star David Olusoga confirms even more tour dates, with tickets out now
  • Baby P mum Tracey Connelly visited a sex club when she was released from prison
  • Inside La Santé prison where Nicolas Sarkozy faces years in isolation
  • Labour slams Farage over Putin praise: ‘What’s really inside Reform’s energy plan?’
  • Covid Inquiry reveals ‘forgotten’ children left disabled by Long Covid
  • Banish condensation on windows and save money on bills with £2.99 method
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
England TimesEngland Times
Demo
  • Home
  • News
  • World
  • Politics
  • Money
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Travel
  • More
    • Tech
    • Web Stories
    • Spotlight
    • Press Release
England TimesEngland Times
Home » Doctor says 2 things help to lower cholesterol levels without taking statins
Health

Doctor says 2 things help to lower cholesterol levels without taking statins

By staff22 October 2025No Comments4 Mins Read

A doctor has shared ways you can lower levels without drug use

10:52, 22 Oct 2025Updated 12:03, 22 Oct 2025

A medical professional has shared advice on how to reduce cholesterol levels without resorting to statins. The expert was responding to a patient who had difficulty tolerating the medication.

The patient asked: “I have high cholesterol, but when I tried statins, I didn’t like the side effects. What are non-pharmaceutical ways to lower my cholesterol?” The NHS explains that high cholesterol is an excess of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood.

It’s primarily caused by consuming fatty food, lack of exercise, being overweight, smoking, and drinking alcohol, and it can also be hereditary. The health service advises that you can decrease your cholesterol by eating a healthy diet and increasing physical activity.

Some people may also need to take medication such as statins. The NHS further adds: “Too much cholesterol can block your blood vessels. It makes you more likely to have heart problems or a stroke. High cholesterol does not usually cause symptoms. You can only find out if you have it from a blood test.”

As alternatives to medication, Dr Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, suggested lifestyle changes people could make before turning to statins, in an interview with the New York Times.

Dr Hu stated: ” When we exercise, HDL cholesterol is released into the bloodstream, where it sweeps up fatty plaque deposits in the blood vessels and transports them to the liver for disposal.”

Dr Roberto Lobelo, a cardiac expert, has advised: “The AHA (American Heart Association) recommends that all adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, per week. That can include walking, swimming, lifting weights, dancing or whatever else you enjoy and can do without injury.

“The key is to ensure that your heart rate is elevated enough. If you’re struggling to keep up your end of a conversation while you’re exercising, that’s how you know you’re working hard enough.”

Diet also plays a crucial role in maintaining heart health, with experts recommending the portfolio diet. This includes soy products like tofu and other plant-based proteins like beans, lentils and chickpeas; viscous-fibre-containing foods like oats, barley, psyllium husk, berries, apples, and citrus fruits; nuts and seeds; avocado; and healthy plant-based oils like canola oil and olive oil – can help lower cholesterol, said Andrea Glenn, a nutrition researcher at New York University.

In a review of seven clinical trials involving about 440 participants with high cholesterol levels who didn’t require medication, researchers found that the portfolio diet helped reduce their LDL cholesterol by up to 30 per cent. That’s about as effective as the older versions of statin drugs that were widely used in the ’90s, Dr. Glenn said.

Dr Glenn and her colleagues tracked approximately 210,000 U.S. adults for about 30 years in a study published in 2023. They discovered that those who closely adhered to this diet had a 14 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those who consumed less of these foods, Dr Glenn explained.

The portfolio diet is effective because it combines various types of foods and nutrients that help reduce cholesterol in different ways, she said. Plant proteins like beans, chickpeas and soy products, for instance, can inhibit the production of apolipoprotein B, which normally aids your body in absorbing cholesterol from foods. Viscous fibre traps or binds cholesterol in the intestines, making it harder to absorb.

And nuts are good sources of unsaturated fatty acids, plant sterols and fibre, which can all lower LDL cholesterol levels. Even adding or replacing a few foods – like adding nuts to your morning granola or swapping red meat with chickpeas or tofu – can help improve your cholesterol, Dr Glenn said.

“There’s certainly no magic bullet,” Dr Hu stated. But diet, exercise and other healthy habits can go a long way in helping to lower cholesterol.

He said: “We have to think about it from a holistic point of view.”

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email

Related News

Covid Inquiry reveals ‘forgotten’ children left disabled by Long Covid

22 October 2025

New alert to anyone taking sertraline, amitriptyline, citalopram or maprotiline

22 October 2025

‘I dropped 7lbs with simple breakfast change and my body feels so much better’

22 October 2025

‘I’m a top nutritionist and not all ultra-processed food should be demonised’

22 October 2025

Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden backs new breast health app to help save lives

22 October 2025

‘New’ medical condition that ‘attacks’ skin, stomach and lungs ‘baffling doctors’

22 October 2025
Latest News

KISS star Ace Frehley’s death ‘being investigated’ with toxicology report ordered

22 October 2025

Celebrity Traitors star David Olusoga confirms even more tour dates, with tickets out now

22 October 2025

Baby P mum Tracey Connelly visited a sex club when she was released from prison

22 October 2025

Inside La Santé prison where Nicolas Sarkozy faces years in isolation

22 October 2025
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
Don't Miss
Politics

Labour slams Farage over Putin praise: ‘What’s really inside Reform’s energy plan?’

By staff22 October 20250

The party plans to do more to call out the Reform UK leader, with internal…

Covid Inquiry reveals ‘forgotten’ children left disabled by Long Covid

22 October 2025

Banish condensation on windows and save money on bills with £2.99 method

22 October 2025

Forgotten Man Utd star’s stance on shock transfer to Premier League rival emerges

22 October 2025
England Times
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
© 2025 England Times. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Go to mobile version