We know that exercise is essential for our physical and mental health. But when it comes to doing them, we get stuck in all sorts of dilemmas. What kind of physical activity? How much does it cost? How often? Furthermore, do these recommendations change if we want to address specific health problems, such as high cholesterol?
Produced by the liver, blood cholesterol is useful when it comes to hormone production and digestion (according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The good news is that the body provides us with all the cholesterol we need. The bad news is that we need to limit our intake of dietary cholesterol, but this is not always easy.
Having a high level of HDL cholesterol (or good cholesterol) can help protect against heart disease and stroke. Having high levels of LDL cholesterol (or bad cholesterol), on the other hand, can make us more vulnerable to these conditions. A total cholesterol level that exceeds 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is considered high. For those with high cholesterol, here’s how many minutes of daily or weekly exercise it takes to help lower it.
According to the American Heart Association, adults with high cholesterol are encouraged to get 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week as an effective means of lowering cholesterol.
When you break that number down into stages, it equates to 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week. This can be done, for example, by walking, cycling or swimming.
Some research shows, however, that people with high cholesterol may want to add a little more time to exercise. In a 2014 scientific review published in Sports Medicine, researchers looked at three different types of exercise and their effects on a patient’s cholesterol levels. Specifically, they looked at aerobic exercise, resistance training, and combined aerobic and resistance training.
The researchers also considered intensity and duration in their analysis for each type of training. Photo: Shutterstock
Based on their findings, the study team issued expert recommendations stating that people with high cholesterol who want to lower LDL cholesterol, increase HDL cholesterol, and lower triglycerides should do more than 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. week. For older adults or people with disabilities, it is recommended to increase physical activity as much as possible.
The intensity of physical exercise can influence cholesterol levels. Photo: Shutterstock
In addition to duration, exercise intensity can influence our LDL cholesterol levels. Researchers have noted that, in general, higher intensity exercise is needed to effectively lower bad cholesterol (according to Sports Medicine). This proved to be the case for aerobic exercise when it came to overall improvement in lipid panel, but for resistance training, increasing the number of repetitions was found to be more effective than increasing the intensity of the exercise. While adding resistance training to aerobic exercise may also benefit our lipid profile, more research is still needed.
For those taking the first steps on their fitness journey, researchers recommend starting with either prolonged moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or resistance training. While physical activity is important in managing high cholesterol, so is maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, and taking medications as prescribed.
Keep up with regular cholesterol checks as recommended by your doctor and work with your family doctor to develop a treatment plan.
Source: Health
Digest
2024-03-07 18:36:40
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