Diet and exercise can play a major role in lowering your cholesterol. Even when you take medication, diet and exercise should still be part of your overall routine each day. Taking medications combined with dieting and exercising can help to dramatically lower your cholesterol. These three things will play a big part in having a healthy lifestyle.

The type of foods you choose to eat is also very important. Choose foods high in fiber such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Stay away from saturated fats and try to control your weight, stop smoking, and start exercising. If you do all these things, you should see a change in your cholesterol within a few weeks time. Sometimes, however, results can vary depending on the individual. You’ll still be on your way to living a healthier life and lower your risk of heart disease.

Eating a healthy diet is also very important. Be sure to check the labels on your food and eat foods that are low in cholesterol. Be picky about what you buy because the foods you choose can not only affect your health but can also affect your family’s health as well. There are a lot of diet programs available so finding a diet that will work for you is important so be sure to pick one you will stick with and that’ll work for you each day.

Exercising is another important ingredient in helping to lower your cholesterol. You should exercise for a few minutes each day. Being overweight can bring on a host of different diseases so start an exercise routine and stick with it. You may not see yourself loosing weight right away and it may take some time to see results. But stick with it because you know you’re on your way to better health and lower cholesterol. Making lifestyle changes to lower your cholesterol will help you to live healthier.

Unfortunately, there are usually no symptoms to reveal that you’re getting high cholesterol. That’s the scary part, not knowing. You will not even know you have high cholesterol unless you go to a doctor and have it checked.

When symptoms do reveal themselves, it may be too late because the symptoms are usually angina, a heart attack or a stroke resulting from the plaque that has built up in your arteries. That’s why it’s so important to go to your doctor regularly and have your cholesterol levels checked. You may need to change your lifestyle and begin taking better care of yourself, or your doctor may put you on medication if your cholesterol levels are severe.

To diagnosis high cholesterol, you’ll need to go to your doctor and get a blood test. To get a reliable reading of your cholesterol, your doctor may ask you to not eat or drink anything for up to twelve hours before you get tested. He may also ask you to avoid exercising for up to twenty-four hours before your test.

If the test is inaccurate he will require you to take a second test. However, you may have to wait a while before taking the second test. There are home tests you can get and check your cholesterol but they may not be as complete and accurate as the one your doctor would give.

There is a new test that’s able to check the cholesterol levels in your skin. This test can also determine your risk of heart disease if you have high levels of cholesterol in your skin. You should start having your cholesterol levels checked by age twenty and have it checked again at least every five years if you have normal cholesterol.

If you’re an adult who has risk factors, you should go and get your cholesterol checked every two years or more often. If your parents have high cholesterol or heart disease, this can also indicate a risk factor for you so you’ll need to have your cholesterol checked more often.