high cholesterol prevention

Self-Care at Home
If you have high lipoproteins and thus high cholesterol, depending on your risk factors for heart disease, your target goals may differ for lowering your LDL cholesterol.
Diet: The National Cholesterol Education Program has created dietary guidelines.

Total fat - Less than 30% of calories
Saturated fat - Less than 7% of calories
Polyunsaturated fat - Less than or equal to 10% of calories
Monounsaturated fat - Approximately 10-15% of calories
Cholesterol - Less than 200 milligrams per day
Carbohydrates - 50-60% of calories

Some people are able to reduce fat and dietary cholesterol with vegetarian diets. Whether these dietary restrictions are realistic for most Americans is debatable. Moreover, such a diet also reduces HDL and raises triglyceride levels.

People with higher triglycerides may benefit from a diet that is higher in monounsaturated fat and lower in carbohydrates, particularly simple sugars. A common source of monounsaturated fat is olive oil.
Activity: Although exercise has little effect on LDL, aerobic exercise may improve insulin sensitivity, HDL, and triglyceride levels and may thus reduce your heart risk. People who exercise and control their diet appear to be more successful in long-term lifestyle modifications that improve their heart risk profile.