5 strategies to help you avoid high cholesterol

Cholesterol is often misunderstood, which doesn't help people who want to keep it under control. But with these five strategies, you fight back against cholesterol, and start living a healthier lifestyle.

• "Partially hydrogenated" oils, also known as trans fats, help extend the shelf life of products but as a detriment to your health.
• They raise both "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, all while lowering your "good" HDL cholesterol levels.
• They can also increase your odds of having a heart attack.
• Trans fats are often found in packaged cookies, crackers, chips and baked goods.

• Smoking depresses levels of good cholesterol by seven to 20 percent.
• At the same time, it can raise your bad cholesterol 70 percent.
• Smoking also unleashes toxic chemicals that make LDL more dangerous to arteries.
• When you quit, you'll see benefits fast: levels of heart-protecting HDL bounce back within a month or two.

• Doctors have discovered that having high levels of good cholesterol is every bit as important as having low levels of the bad stuff.
• Aerobic exercise, whether it's walking, swimming, biking or even working hard in your garden, can raise HDL by five to 10 percent.
• A recent study found that those who got 40 minutes of brisk walking four times a week raised their HDL enough to lower heart disease risk by about six percent.
• For raising HDL, longer workouts are better than several short ones.

• Stress can raise levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol. Relaxation exercises, such as yoga and tai chi, can lower them, studies suggest.
• In one study of 113 people with heart disease, researchers reported that those who added regular yoga sessions to a healthy diet lowered their LDL by 26 percent after one year.
• If yoga doesn't appeal to you, relax regularly in any way that's soothing.

• Fill up on produce by aiming for nine servings of fruit and vegetables a day. It can reduce your LDL by as much as seven percent.
• A lot of produce is high in soluble fibre, which blocks the reabsorption of cholesterol found in the bile acids that make their way into your intestines. This effectively lowers your LDL levels.
• Apples, pears and prunes are all good sources of soluble fibre.
• People who eat more produce are also more likely to eat fewer fatty meats, snacks and desserts.

Only about half of people who have heart attacks have high cholesterol, but it's still important to keep your levels healthy. To start, you need to know what you're up against. Then, you need to make active changes that help keep your cholesterol levels in check.