10 Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol

It’s normal to feel a bit anxious after learning you have high cholesterol. Common concerns include the health risks of high cholesterol, medication costs, and side effects. And with so many classes of medications for cholesterol to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start. 

But there may be some easy changes in the foods you eat and choices you make that can help. Natural ways to lower your cholesterol might help to decrease how much medication you need to take.

Lowering your cholesterol naturally may feel like a daunting task. But there are small steps you can take to make it more manageable. Here are 10 natural ways that can help you start to lower your cholesterol today. 

1.  Increase your fiber intake

Dietary fiber comes in both soluble and insoluble forms, and is an important part of a healthy diet. Adding over 10 g of soluble fiber to your diet can help decrease your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. LDL is often called “bad cholesterol” because it increases your risk of heart disease. 

Fiber works on LDL in two ways. When you eat foods high in fat or cholesterol, dietary fiber works like a sponge. It helps to absorb the cholesterol, keeping levels in the bloodstream at bay. But soluble fiber also works to lower cholesterol even when you eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. It helps to prevent blood sugar spikes that trigger your body to make more cholesterol.

Some common sources of soluble fiber include:

• Oats

• Beans 

• Lentils

• Fruits like apple, pears, and oranges

• Peas

• Psyllium

• Chia

• Flaxseed

• Vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and carrots

Fiber also decreases your risk of heart disease. This is true with both soluble and insoluble forms of fiber.

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2.  Adopt a plant-based diet

A plant-based diet can help to lower cholesterol. This is a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. The effect of plant-based diets on cholesterol is best seen with LDL cholesterol. That’s because you don’t get the saturated fats from meats, dairy, and other animal products, which tend to increase LDL levels. 

Plant-based foods are high in unsaturated fats, fiber, and plant proteins. These help to support lower cholesterol levels. Let’s take a closer look at which plant-based foods can help lower cholesterol.

Vegetable oils

Dietary saturated fat is the biggest contributor to high blood cholesterol levels. Most vegetable oils have very little saturated fat, with the exceptions of coconut and palm oils. Vegetable oils have been shown to lower cholesterol. Vegetable oils include:

• Corn oil

• Olive oil

• Soybean oil

• Peanut oil 

Nuts and nut butters

Nuts like cashews, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, and peanuts have a cholesterol-lowering effect. And it appears that the more nut-containing foods you eat, the stronger the effect. It’s important to keep in mind that in order to be heart-healthy, you should choose nuts or nut butters that don’t have added salt, sugar, or other fats.

Seeds

Seeds are recommended as part of a heart-healthy diet. Many seeds are helpful in lowering cholesterol because they are high in unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, seeds have lots of fiber, which also helps lower cholesterol. 

Seeds you can consider adding to your diet include:

• Pumpkin

• Sunflower

• Sesame

• Flaxseed

• Chia

Quinoa

Quinoa is a seed that comes from the Andes of South America. It has been eaten by people of the region for hundreds of years, but has recently been introduced to North American culture. 

Even though it’s treated like a grain similar to rice, quinoa is actually a seed. Like other seeds it has also been shown to improve cardiovascular health. In a review of studies looking at people who ate 50 g of quinoa each day, researchers found lower total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL cholesterol levels compared with people who didn’t eat quinoa. 

Hummus

Hummus is a staple of the Mediterranean diet. It’s made of chickpeas and tahini (sesame seed paste). Eating hummus has been shown to lower cholesterol, improve glucose levels, and help with appetite control. As with nut butters, it’s important to make sure that the hummus you choose doesn’t have unhealthy additives like salt, sugar, or saturated fat.

Legumes

Legumes, or “pulses,” are edible seeds that come from pods. And they’re really good for you. In a research review legumes lowered total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, and improved insulin sensitivity. Legumes are a great source of protein, which can replace servings of meat in the diet. 

Common types of legumes include:

• Kidney beans

• Cannellini beans

• Navy beans

• Fava beans

• Black beans

• Pinto beans

• Soy beans

• Black-eyed peas

• Chickpeas

• Lentils 

Leafy vegetables

There’s not a lot of human studies available to make a definitive claim about leafy green vegetables. But leafy greens contain fiber, which has been shown to reduce cholesterol. And leafy greens are part of the Mediterranean diet, which is heart-healthy. 

There are many animal studies showing leafy vegetables improve blood lipid levels. One study showed that adding green leafy vegetables to the diet reduced blood pressure, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol significantly in mice. More studies in humans are needed.

3.  Exercise

Both aerobic exercise and resistance training can improve your cholesterol. The amount of benefit appears to be dependent on the intensity of the exercise. Moderate-intensity to high-intensity exercise lowers LDL levels. But it also improves levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. HDL is often called “good cholesterol” because it helps to remove other cholesterol from the body. So it’s better to have higher levels of HDL. Exercise is a natural way to raise your HDL. 

Experts recommend people to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. Or you could strive for at least 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise each week. This level of exercise may give you major gains in your HDL. One study found that moderate aerobic exercise three times a week for 40 minutes increased HDL cholesterol by over 10%.

Some common forms of aerobic exercise include:

• Walking

• Biking

• Jogging

• Jumping rope

• Swimming

• Playing tennis

Experts recommend moderate-intensity to high-intensity resistance training at least twice per week. This includes strength training by lifting weights, body-weight exercises, or resistance bands. 

4.  Increase omega-3 intake

Omega-3 fatty acids have the greatest impact on triglycerides. Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood that can also raise your risk of heart disease. At doses of 4 g per day, omega-3 fatty acids can decrease triglyceride levels by up to 30%. Omega-3 can come in the form of supplements, prescription, or from your diet. Foods rich in omega-3 you can add to your diet include:

• Fatty fish

• Nuts

• Seeds

• Plant oils

The American Heart Association recommends eating fatty fish at least twice per week. Examples of fish high in omega-3 fatty acids are:

• Salmon

• Tuna

• Mackerel

• Anchovies

• Black cod

• Herring

5.  Practice weight management

Having overweight or obesity can raise your risk for high cholesterol. But that risk is reversible. Even modest amounts of weight loss can have a huge effect on your cholesterol levels. Losing just 5% of your body weight can lead to a notable decrease in LDL and triglycerides. 

6.  Limit alcohol intake

Alcohol can affect cholesterol in two ways. The effect it has depends on how much and how often you drink. With minimal to moderate intake, alcohol can raise your HDL. This is why alcohol is sometimes thought to be protective against heart disease. But drinking more than moderate levels of alcohol can actually increase triglycerides.

The science isn’t entirely clear on how much alcohol causes more risk for your cholesterol than benefit. But experts recommend that women have no more than 1 drink per day and men have no more than 2.

7. Stop smoking

Along with other health effects, smoking can increase your cholesterol. Smoking affects cholesterol in two ways. It lowers HDL cholesterol and also raises LDL cholesterol. Once you stop smoking, this effect is highly reversible. In fact, HDL levels can rise in as little as 3 weeks after quitting smoking.

Breaking a smoking habit can be tough. Tools that some people find helpful include:

• Nicotine replacement

• Medication

• Counseling

• Quitlines

• Online support groups

8.  Decrease stress

There’s evidence that stress increases both LDL and triglycerides. The rise in cholesterol isn’t just a response to long-term stress. It also appears that there are rapid changes in cholesterol due to short-term stress. Some easy and helpful ways to decrease stress are:

• Staying active

• Practicing mindfulness

• Eating a balanced diet

• Using relaxation techniques

• Getting enough sleep

9.  Take supplements

Some dietary supplements are useful in improving cholesterol. They can help boost the cholesterol-lowering effect of a healthy diet and exercise. Common supplements that may help lower your cholesterol include:

• Chia 

• Flaxseed

• Whey

• Stanol and sterol

• Soy 

• Garlic

In some cases, supplements can have similar effects as medication. This is especially true for red yeast rice. This supplement can have the same active ingredient as lovastatin. It can also have the same side effects. Discuss any supplements you plan to take with your healthcare professional to be sure it’s safe for you to do so.

10. Drink green tea

There’s evidence that green tea decreases both LDL and total cholesterol. It may work because of the flavonoids in green tea. These compounds may prevent the body from making cholesterol and improve absorption. Research shows that 375 mg of green tea per day may lower LDL cholesterol by over 15%.

You can have green tea as a drink or a dietary supplement. The recommendation is to drink no more than 6 to 8 cups per day. Although it’s safe for most people, be sure to talk with your healthcare professional before adding green tea to your diet.

What is the fastest way to lower cholesterol without medication?

Many of the natural ways to lower cholesterol work quickly. But changes like weight management and lowering stress may take a while. But the benefits of working toward these goals are almost immediate. 

Adding resistance training to your routine can lower your cholesterol within 6 weeks. Omega-3 fatty acids can improve triglycerides in as little as 4 weeks. Dietary changes and exercise work better to lower cholesterol together than alone.

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Written by:

Karla Robinson, MD

Karla Robinson, MD, is a medical editor for GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified family physician with almost 20 years of experience in health through varied clinical, administrative, and educational roles.

Reviewed by:

Frank Schwalbe, MD

Frank Schwalbe, MD, is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Yale School of Medicine. He has practiced anesthesiology for 30 years.

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