How to fix “Bad” Cholesterol (without medication)

We all know somebody who’s been diagnosed with having “high cholesterol” or “bad cholesterol”, and the doctor always either prescribes medication for it, says they need to change their diet, or some combination of those two. But this is usually where the conversation ends, and then people are left to try and figure everything out on their own.

For many people who end up on these medications there are a lot of unwanted and unpleasant side effects, leaving you wondering if this is just the way life is going to be from now on. But I have good news for anyone reading this who is in that particular situation: there’s a way out, and a way off the meds.

In this article I’m going to explain the solution and the science behind it.

Fats and Fiber: The Dream Team

The most common cause of “bad cholesterol” is eating a diet that’s really high in saturated fats for an extended period of time. People sometimes assume that in order to remedy the situation and get their cholesterol back under control, they need to switch over to a low-fat diet, but that’s not exactly the case.

Instead, you want to change up the kinds of fat that you consume in your diet. Because you can’t just cut fats out entirely, unless you want to run into a whole list of health problems like hormonal issues, weakened immune system, impaired vision, and nutrient deficiencies, to name just a few.

The Solution Involves Two Steps:

1) Increase your intake of polyunsaturated fats - which come from sources like walnuts, sunflower seeds, ground flaxseed, salmon, and more!

2) Increase your fiber intake - which should come from wholefood sources, not from fiber supplements like Metamucil or fiber gummies.

The cool thing is that a lot of the foods that are rich in healthy fats are also rich in fiber, like nuts and seeds. It’s almost as if nature intended them to be consumed together - imagine that!

When it comes to fats… they should make up anywhere from 20-50% of your total calories in a day (make sure to NEVER go below 20%). Of that, at least 90% of your fat intake should be unsaturated fats - limit your saturated fats to less than 10% of your total intake.

To have the most profound impact on remedying your cholesterol and blood lipid issues, make sure to follow these guidelines:

• Choose lean cuts of meat and extra lean ground beef, make sure any beef you get is grass-fed (it increases the content of omega 3 fatty acids), and opt for mostly poultry and fish for animal protein sources,

• Every day try to include a combination of the following: avocados, an assortment of nuts and seeds (and spreads made from them), olive oil, and some source of oily fish like herring, mackerel, salmon, and trout,

• If you don’t like fish then consider supplementing omega 3 fatty acids by taking a pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplement. *Pro tip: always refrigerate fish oil, and never buy it unless it’s been stored in a fridge. I always choose liquid fish oil rather than capsules. If you’re not sure about whether your fish oil capsules are rancid, just break one open and if it makes you want to puke then it’s no good. Fish oil shouldn’t stink.

When it comes to fiber… make sure you're getting it from a variety of sources including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and beans and legumes.

To have the most profound impact on remedying your cholesterol and blood lipid issues, make sure to follow these guidelines:

• Aim for at least 25g of fiber/day. You can safely get much more than this, but if you’re just starting to add fiber into your diet then it’s best to build up your intake slowly over weeks to avoid digestive upset.

• The ideal ratio of soluble to insoluble fiber is 3:1, because soluble fiber is the stuff that’s going to make the magic happen for your health. I’ll explain why down below.

• Avoid fiber supplements, you can get all you need from whole food sources and your body will thank you for it.

How Does It Work?

Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs)

1) Reduce LDL Cholesterol (the bad stuff)

• PUFAs, particularly omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, promote the uptake of LDL from the bloodstream into the liver to be broken down and removed.

• Reductions in LDL have been linked to lower instances of heart disease and related issues. High levels of LDL in relation to HDL have been linked to deposits of plaque in the arteries, which causes atherosclerosis (a build up of fats, cholesterol, and other substances in and around the artery walls), leading to all sorts of potential health complications like hypertension and increase risk of heart attack and stroke.

2) Increase HDL Cholesterol (the good stuff)

• HDL helps transport LDL cholesterol from the arteries to the liver for excretion, which is why it helps to protect against heart disease.

3) Anti-Inflammatory Effects

• Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory in nature which means they can help lower the risk of heart diseases, since chronic inflammation is one of the key factors in the development of atherosclerosis.

4) Improves Blood Lipid Profiles

• By reducing triglyceride levels and improving the balance between HDL and LDL, PUFAs can improve your overall blood lipid profile, thereby preventing the development of dyslipidemia.

Dietary Fiber (particularly soluble fiber)

1) Reduce LDL cholesterol

• Soluble fiber binds to bile acids in the intestines, which are formed from cholesterol. This prevents them from being reabsorbed, which frees up the liver to be able to use more cholesterol to produce more bile acids to aid in digestion - by also eating a diet rich in polyunsaturated fats you end up with more LDL being transported from the blood to the liver, where it can be used up or disposed of.

2) Increase HDL cholesterol

• Some studies have shown that increasing dietary fiber intake can increase HDL levels, but the main effect we see is the lowering of LDL.

3) Decrease in Total Cholesterol

• By promoting the excretion of cholesterol and bile acids, fiber helps decrease total cholesterol levels in the blood to a healthy level.

4) Improvement in Insulin Sensitivity and Blood Sugar Regulation

• Fiber helps improve overall metabolic health which indirectly affects lipid profiles, since all of these functions are intimately linked to one another.

5) Promoting a healthy gut microbiome

• Read below to find out why this is so crucial

Synergy & The Magic of the Gut Microbiome

The combined affects of both soluble fiber and PUFAs can have a synergistic impact, amplifying the benefits on cholesterol and lowering the risk factors for heart disease.

Soluble fiber can play an interesting role in the gut microbiome as well. If you consume probiotic rich foods as well as lots of soluble fiber then you’ll have a gut fortified with colonies of good bacteria. These good bacteria feed on the soluble fiber and cause a fermentation process, and it’s the by-products of this fermentation that has such a profoundly positive impact.

Short-chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) are produced as by-products of the metabolic processes of the healthy bacteria that inhabit your gut. These SCFAs then leave the gut and enter the blood stream, where they visit every organ system in the body and have extremely beneficial affects. I’ll get into the details on these processes more in another article.

Since our organ systems all have a two-way communication system with the gut, you can solve for a lot of issues by improving upon gut health - and the way you do that is by fortifying the diet with probiotic-rich foods and soluble fiber to feed the healthy bacteria. It’s easier than you think, but the science behind it is very complex. I’ll be creating another article dedicated specifically to diving into this stuff deeper.