Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol
By Brenda Williams 
More than forty percent of the adult population suffers from high cholesterol, or what medical professionals refer to as hyperlipidemia. As an alternative to medications many consider the use of natural supplements, a change in diet or exercise to manage the disease.
Cholesterol medications are traditionally treated with cholesterol lowering medications; statins. Statins have been known to have devastating effects on the body. Common side effects include; weakness throughout the arms and legs, gas, heartburn, nausea, bloating and diarrhea, as well as more serious side effects. There have been moderate instances of people experiencing dangerous side effects such as liver damage, allergic reactions and severe skin rashes including blistering, peeling and aching before the side effects occur.
There are many natural ways that we can lower our cholesterol besides the traditional medication options, as well as reduced diet and exercise. Whether the food that we eat, or the choices that we choose to input into our body - there are many ways we can lower our cholesterol levels, and decrease our risk of heart disease.
Taking a quality multi-vitamin daily can decrease the risk for heart disease, and lower the risk for cholesterol to become elevated. Important components of the multi-vitamin include vitamin B12 and folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk of developing heart disease by thirty one percent. Folic acid is important because it has been shown to decrease the blood levels of amino acids that can cause stroke, heart disease and hyperlipidemia. B vitamins are crucial within the body as they promote a healthy heart. Therefore a well rounded multi vitamin can increase your health and decrease your risk of developing not only heart disease, but many others.
If taking a multi-vitamin, beware of the iron content - large amounts of iron have been known to discount the other heart healthy vitamins and increase blood cholesterol levels.
Certain foods can lower cholesterol, while decreasing the risks of heart disease. Consider something so simple as a glass of orange juice, which contains plant sterols - drinking two glasses per day has been shown to decrease cholesterol. Cranberry juice is an alternative for those who do not enjoy the taste or texture of orange juice.
Red wine has been known to decrease cholesterol, in moderation of course - it seems to remove excess from the blood, it is also helpful in decreasing a chemical within the body that causes red blood cells to constrict. Other food types such as soy and tofu can assist in decreasing the cholesterol. After twelve weeks of soy infused diets participants in a study had shown decreased cholesterol by five percent over the course of the study. Other foods such as a handful of almond per day can decrease the cholesterol by up to nine percent over the course of three months. Not only did this handful of almonds have the power to decrease cholesterol, the same handful of almonds decrease the risk of a cardiovascular event by twenty percent.
There are many foods that we can choose to eat that have beneficial effects on our health, rather than foods high in sugar or fats that only increase bad cholesterol within the body.
