Diet And Exercise Plan Can Help Increase Good Cholesterol

Healthy lifestyle and healthy nutrition are becoming more and more popular, and millions of people around the world could have already experienced positive effects of living a life free of bad habits. Undoubtedly, an effective diet and exercise plan is a milestone of healthy lifestyle for everyone, which also should be supported by such elements as psychological health and spiritual balance, the absence of bad habits, regular and balanced sexual life with one partner, a good hobby and a company of goods friends, etc. However, for most of us healthy lifestyle is primarily centered around two most important components: a healthy diet and regular exercise. Health benefits and advantages of healthy eating and plenty of exercise are numerous, including lower risk for obesity, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and many other serious diseases.

In addition to that, as a recent study suggests, healthy lifestyle and using an effective diet and exercise plan is highly necessary for those people who suffer from early stages of obesity and thus have increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Earlier this month, a group of specialists at the Methodist Hospital in Houston has published their findings saying that following a healthy diet plan and exercising regularly is a unique natural approach to aid weight loss and increase good cholesterol. These amazing effects can be achieved at the expense of ‘reprogramming’ fat cells to produce more of the hormone which is responsible for good cholesterol production. HDL cholesterol known as good cholesterol is one of the most important structural component and a type of fat which plays a role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Stimulating vitamin D synthesis as a result of sunlight exposure is another principal function of good cholesterol in human body.

For the research, American specialists collected extensive amounts of data on a group of the participants of the study, a number of people with extra weight and type 2 diabetes, who were invited to take part in a multicenter clinical trial aiming to study the effects of diet and exercise plan on cardiovascular risks and cholesterol levels. The participants were divided into two groups, one of which was assigned to go through intensive exercise and diet program based on low calorie diet and moderate daily exercise. At the same time, the members of control group were offered only type 2 diabetes support program, with no  lifestyle alterations. In one year, the researchers could observe that the member of the first group managed to achieve amazing success in terms of body weight and general body fitness, fat levels, blood sugar levels, and some other elements, compared to the members of the control group.

However, to a great surprise of the scientists, there were no serious changes detected in ‘bad’ cholesterol levels as a result of using diet and exercise plan. But, at the same time, the levels of fat hormone adiponectin linked to good cholesterol production raised for almost 12 percent, thus causing increase good cholesterol by about 10 percent. Therefore, lifestyle changes like introducing a healthy diet and a regular moderate exercise plan can be a very effective tool for increasing the levels of HDL cholesterol and enjoying cardiovascular benefits. In addition to that, the authors of the research pointed to obvious advantages of increased levels of adiponectin for faster fat burning and decreased blood sugar levels.

According to Dr. Christie Ballantyne, one of the study leaders and the director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, the research helped understand the benefits of active lifestyle, diet and exercise plan for overweight people. “When you exercise and diet, you’re improving the function of your adipose tissue, your heart and vascular systems, and even muscle performance. You’re getting a lot of benefits that you may not see by just looking at the weight on a scale,” the scientist said. The study is scheduled to be published in the coming print issue of the Journal of Lipid Research and the report was published online in some scientific news websites. The American Heart Association experts warn about the importance of following our good and bad cholesterol levels in order to prevent serious diseases and health risks. They underline that following a healthy lifestyle guidelines is the best solution for providing effective cardiovascular protection.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

Comments are closed.