Recently, I had a friend who went to the Doctor and found out she had elevated cholesterol levels. Her Doctor is open to natural solutions but wanted her to take a prescription to help manage it. She contacted me and asked if I knew of any non-pharmaceutical ways to help lower cholesterol.
I haven’t found a health concern yet that couldn’t be helped by using natural solutions such as food, diet, exercise, essential oils, supplements etc. and managing cholesterol is no different.
I am not opposed to western medicine or using pharmaceuticals, however, I always try holistic approaches first. They are much better for your mind, body and soul. If, for some reason, the natural approach doesn’t work, the drug store will always be there.
High cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Medications can help improve your cholesterol, though there are normally side effects. Common side effects of cholesterol drugs include:
- Diarrhea.
- Constipation.
- Nausea.
- Stomach cramps.
- Muscle soreness, pain, or weakness.
- Vomiting.
- Headache.
- Dizziness.
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
- Problems sleeping
- Rash or flushed skin
If you’d rather avoid potential side effects, try making lifestyle changes to improve your cholesterol.
And don’t worry if you already take medications, these changes can improve their cholesterol-lowering effect.
eat heart healthy foods
Your diet has a powerful effect on your cholesterol and other risk factors. To help support your body, try these cholesterol lowering foods.
- Legumes
- Avocados
- Nuts
- Fatty Fish
- Whole Grains
- Fruits & Berries
- Dark Chocolate
- Garlic
- Vegetables
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
get physical activity daily
Exercise can improve cholesterol. Moderate physical activity can help raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol. If you are new to exercise, start slowly. Aim for 20 minutes per day 3 times per week. Eventually, you will be able to spend 30 minutes per day 5-7 times per week.
Adding physical activity, even in short intervals several times a day, can help you begin to lose weight. Consider:
- Taking a brisk daily walk during your lunch hour
- Riding your bike to work
- Playing a community sport
- Going for a swim
lose weight
Carrying even a few extra pounds can contribute to high cholesterol. Small changes add up. Try giving up soft drinks, drinking more water, closing the kitchen at 7pm or cutting out snacking between meals. Intermittent Fasting is another tactic that can help you lose weight with minimal restrictions.
quit smoking
According to the Mayo Clinic, quitting smoking improves your HDL cholesterol level. The benefits occur quickly:
- Within 20 minutes of quitting, your blood pressure and heart rate recover from the cigarette-induced spike
- Within three months of quitting, your blood circulation and lung function begin to improve
- Within a year of quitting, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker
In addition to these lifestyle changes, there are natural solutions that you can use to help manage your cholesterol. Dr. David Hill is the Founding Executive Chief Medical Officer / Chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee at doTERRA. He recommends certain supplements and essential oils.
do a cleanse once per quarter
Just google natural cleanse and you will get pages of results. There are a ton on the market. I am partial to doTERRA myself, mainly because I trust the products and respect the transparency of the company. They list all ingredients and you can even look up your specific bottle of essential oil at sourcetoyou.com to get scientific information on your 15ml bottle.
If you choose the doTERRA cleanse you can simply take the products as directed or combine it with a fast.
The Cleanse & Restore Kit includes the following products:
doTERRA Lifelong Vitality Pack®
Zendocrine® Softgels
Zendocrine Complex
DigestZen TerraZyme®
GX Assist®
PB Assist®+
DDR Prime® Softgels
Lemon essential oil
take lifelong Vitality daily
If you read my blog regularly, you know that I LOVE my LLV supplements. As one of doTERRA’s most popular products, doTERRA Lifelong Vitality Pack is full of essential nutrients, metabolism benefits, and powerful antioxidants designed to help promote energy, health, and lifelong vitality.
Primary Benefits
- General wellness and vitality
- Antioxidant and DNA protection
- Energy metabolism
- Bone health
- Immune function
- Stress management
- Cardiovascular health
- Healthy hair, skin, and nails
- Eye, brain, nervous system
- Liver function and digestive health
- Lung and respiratory health
- Gentle on stomach
- Does not contain genetically modified material, dairy-free
Take 1 Zendocrine capsule daily
Zendocrine supports the healthy cleansing and filtering functions of the liver, kidneys, colon, lungs, and skin. Each whole-food botanical extract was selected specifically to support organ capacity to both provide protective cleansing and filtering functions for the body and to support the organ’s own capacity to rid itself of stored toxic waste products. It also uses an enzyme support system to help with whole-food extract absorption and is packaged in SLS-free vegetable capsule.
Essential Oil Blend
Combine 2 drops of lemongrass essential oil, 2 drops of basil essential oil and 1 drop of geranium essential oil topically or add to a veggie capsule.
Other research has shown that taking a probiotic and a digestive enzyme can also be effective. I recommend PB Assist for the probiotic and TerraZyme for the digestive enzymes. I take both daily and have nothing but positive things to say; they get two thumbs up from me.
Cholesterol supports many essential bodily functions, such as cell membrane formation and hormone production. However, having high levels of LDL cholesterol can increase a person’s risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
People can naturally lower their cholesterol levels through dietary and lifestyle changes. Eating heart healthy foods can help lower levels of LDL cholesterol and raise levels of HDL cholesterol.
Other ways to naturally lower cholesterol include living a cleaner lifestyle and exercising regularly. You can also manage cholesterol by using natural solutions such as supplements and essential oils.
