Cholesterol is one of those health buzzwords that’s always floating somewhere in the collective health conversation. Chances are you’ve seen warnings to keep it low. Or maybe you’ve heard people categorize it into the categories of good and bad. Specifically, cholesterol is a fatty substance, which we produce ourselves but also absorb through our food, that’s essential to the human body. It helps build our cell membranes and hormones like testosterone, among other good stuff.
What people mean when they talk about good and bad cholesterol is how cholesterol is carried through the body, by particles called lipoproteins. High-density lipoproteins (HDLs), says general practitioner Jeff Foster, take fat out of your blood “and puts it in your liver, where it can’t do damage.” Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) take fat “out of your liver and puts it into your blood, where it can stick to stuff like arteries.”That’s why having too much LDL can lead to heart problems.
You can get your cholesterol levels measured with a blood or finger-prick test, it’s recommended to have that done if you’re over 40, overweight, or if heart problems run in the family. It’s a useful exercise on its own, says Dr. Foster, but is best paired with a QRISK test, which uses your medical data to calculate your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. “Supposing you’re just somebody that has borderline cholesterol [levels],” he says, “then knowing your overall QRISK score will give you a better indicator of whether you need to do anything with that information.”
If you do need to lower your cholesterol, diet is one of the best places to start. Cut out foods high in saturated fat, like butter, cheese, and fatty cuts of poultry and beef; junk foods like cake and chips are, unsurprisingly, also culprits. Instead, go big on unsaturated fats via oily fish like salmon and mackerel, and avocado, says Dr. Foster, because these up your HDL levels and “push down that LDL impact.” Rupy Aujla, a doctor who produces podcasts and cookbooks as The Doctor’s Kitchen, gives a “special shoutout to edamame; soy-based legumes, so soybeans, tofu, tempeh; nuts like walnuts and almonds.” Eating less food, says Dr. Aujla—about 5 to 10% fewer calories than you need—has also “been shown time and time again to reduce your LDL cholesterol.”