The importance of exercise for lowering cholesterol levels

Exercise plays a crucial role in helping to maintain a healthy cholesterol level. Keeping active, combined with a healthy diet, provides many great health benefits. If you currently have high cholesterol levels, becoming more active could help. BHR Pharmaceuticals have covered the importance of exercise for lowering cholesterol levels as part of National Cholesterol Month.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fat that circulates in our bodies. Circulating in our blood, cholesterol is an essential part of keeping us alive as it helps with many different metabolic processes, including producing healthy cells, producing vitamin D, and in the creation of bile for food digestion.

Many people may be unaware of exactly how beneficial cholesterol is to our bodies. In fact, cholesterol has gained a bad reputation for its link with heart disease and strokes. To reduce the risk of these health problems, it’s essential to maintain a healthy cholesterol level.

While our bodies produce cholesterol in the liver, we also obtain cholesterol from animal-sourced produce, including milk, cheese, and eggs. The amount of cholesterol we obtain from food affects the amount our bodies produce.

However, when we experience high levels of bad cholesterol, it increases our cholesterol levels and poses a risk to our health. There are two types of cholesterol you should be aware of when trying to maintain a healthy level.

The types of cholesterol

There are two types of cholesterol that we should be aware of, HDL and LDL.

HDL cholesterol

HDL is vital for our bodies as it helps in the removal of any excess cholesterol. Standing for high-density lipoprotein, HDL is often referred to as good cholesterol as it helps to remove excess cholesterol from our blood vessels and tissue which can lead to blood vessel blockages.

HDL takes any excess cholesterol in our body to the liver, where it is either used in the creation of bile for food digestion or naturally excreted from the body. Research has found that higher levels of HDL is important for preventing our arteries from clogging up and minimises the risk of heart disease.

In the UK, a healthy adult should aim for an HDL level of 1mmol/L or more (millimoles per litre).

LDL cholesterol

LDL cholesterol is used in our bodies for transporting cholesterol to our blood vessels and body tissue. LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein and is often referred to as bad cholesterol. That’s because a high level of LDL poses a much greater health risk.

When our bodies experience high levels of LDL, any excess gets deposited inside our arteries. It is here that it forms together on the inside walls of our arteries, restricting blood flow. In the event arteries become blocked, it leads to heart disease and stroke.

In the UK, a healthy adult should aim for an LDL level of 4mmol/L (millimoles per litre) or less.

Factors that can lead to high LDL levels include:

• Poor diet (a higher intake of saturated fats compared to unsaturated fats)

• Lack of exercise

• Smoking and excessive drinking (as the body works to remove alcohol over managing cholesterol)

• High blood pressure

• Obesity

• Family history of high cholesterol

• Insufficient sleep

You can use a Cholesterol self-test kit or obtain a professional test from your GP to discover your cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol and exercise

Being active and getting enough exercise per week plays an important role in helping to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Getting sufficient exercise (whether it be intense or moderate exercise) provides many benefits for managing cholesterol levels.

Previously, researchers were unsure of the link between exercise and cholesterol levels. Recent research though has explored the effect of exercise on lowering our cholesterol levels separate from any dietary effects.

Research now suggests that exercise helps to stimulate enzymes in our body that help in the removal of LDL from blood vessels back to the liver. The greater the amount of exercise you do, it is suggested that your body removes LDL.

Exercise can also help in maintaining a healthy cholesterol level by increasing the size of the protein particles that transport cholesterol in the blood. It is the combination of protein particles and cholesterol that forms lipoproteins.

How much exercise should I do?

The amount of exercise required for maintaining healthy cholesterol is subjective, with varying research findings. However, a strong link has been found between those who exercise more and lower LDL levels and higher HDL levels.

Undertaking moderate exercise does help in maintaining cholesterol levels and stops them from rising. Not only that, but exercise also has a positive effect on glucose levels and can improve our mood.

In the UK, it is advised for an adult to do 150 minutes of moderate excerise or 75 minutes of intense exercise a week.

If you can manage to do more exercise per week than the recommended amount, that’s even better. You can achieve the recommended amount of 150 minutes by exercising for around 30 minutes every day, for at least 5 days a week.

For children, the recommended amount is less

• Anyone aged 18 or under should aim for at least 1 hour of activity each day

• Children under 5 who can walk should be active for at least 3 hours throughout a day

Moderate exercise is classed as any exercise that increases your heart rate and breathing, or aerobic exercise (although not to the extent you are breathless). Activities such as walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, or dancing are good moderate exercises. Always remember to slowly build up your exercises.

You can get active and achieve a sufficient amount of exercise each week without the need to join a club or go to the gym. Staying active with others, such as friends and family, can help to make it more fun. Finding activities that you enjoy doing will help you to maintain them in the long term.

Heart UK, the UK’s only cholesterol charity, states that being active helps to:

• Raise HDL cholesterol levels

• Lower LDL cholesterol levels

• Help in weight loss or maintain a healthy weight

• Helps in removing ‘middle weight’ for better heart health

• Lowers your blood pressure

• Lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes or helps you to better control it

Exercising and keeping active can also provide other health benefits, such as boosting energy levels, reducing fatigue, building bone and muscle strength, and improving your mental health.

Even the smallest of changes can make a difference. If you currently experience high cholesterol levels, begin by starting to increase the amount of time you are active. As you slowly build up, you can work towards achieving the recommended amount per week.