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Sesame seeds, cashews, and kidney beans are just a few of the plant-based foods that contain important plant nutrients called phytosterols, which have the ability to lower LDL cholesterol levels. Phytosterols lower high cholesterol levels naturally because they inhibit the body’s ability to absorb dietary cholesterol.

Healthy triglyceride levels are just as essential to heart health as optimal cholesterol levels. To lower high triglycerides, consider eating better, keeping your weight down, and supplementing with omega-3 essential fatty acids.

Treating high cholesterol levels with statin drugs may affect brain function. That’s because statin drugs suppress cholesterol production in the liver and may also do so in the brain, which could contribute to memory loss and more.

Having high cholesterol is considered much more dangerous if you also have high Lp(a) levels in your blood. But standard cholesterol tests don’t check Lp(a) levels. Learn about the tests that check for this dangerous type of LDL cholesterol.

Red yeast rice may be sold as a supplement, but it's actually a mild form of a statin drug—and like any drug, it has side effects that you need to be careful of.

To lower cholesterol naturally, you should start by taking a few core nutritional supplements, such as niacin, policosanol, and garlic. Additional supplements may also help to lower cholesterol levels, according to your individual needs.

Niacin (vitamin B 3) does an excellent job of lowering the small LDL cholesterol particles. Plus it helps superbly raise the larger "good" HDL cholesterol particles. Niacin also lowers triglyceride levels and the very dangerous cholesterol component, Lp(a).

Doctors often treat high cholesterol levels with statin drugs. But because statins can cause serious side effects, they should not be used simply to lower cholesterol levels. Find out who should consider taking a statin.

Treating high cholesterol with statins carries many risks. If you're trying to lower cholesterol with statins, you need to know how statin drugs can deplete the body of CoQ10 and other substances that are critical to the production of cellular energy.

Learn what cholesterol is, what functions it performs in the body, and what the difference is between HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Also discover the link between your cholesterol levels and optimal cardiovascular health.

High cholesterol levels can be caused by chronic stress, since stress hormones promote accelerated LDL cholesterol oxidation. To help you lower your cholesterol levels, learn eight time-tested stress-reduction techniques.

It used to be thought that cholesterol alone was the major marker for heart disease. Now inflammation has been identified as a significant factor in the development of heart disease, plaque instability, and plaque rupture.