The Primordial Cholesterol Therapy: Exercise

The positive effects of exercise on heart disease are many. They include loss of body fat, lowering of blood pressure, reducing overall body inflammation, and improved cholesterol. The actual mechanism by which exercise directly affects cholesterol is incompletely understood. Besides weight maintenance and weight loss, exercise can stimulate or inhibit certain liver enzymes that regulate the size and composition of LDL and HDL particles as well manage fat stores. There is also evidence that not all people respond the same to exercise and that your genetic make-up may govern what type of benefit you may gain. Women may also not get as much of a rise in HDL when compared to men.

One common question is how often and how vigorous should I exercise? A study performed in 2002 examined this question when it compared the effects of different levels and amounts of exercise on cholesterol profiles in overweight, sedentary men and women. The people were randomized to 3 types of exercise programs: high intensity and high amount (i.e. jogging 20miles/week at a moderate pace), high intensity and low amount (i.e. jogging 12 miles/wk at a moderate pace), and finally moderate intensity and low amount (i.e. walking 12miles/wk). The most important result was that all the groups showed benefit with regards to cholesterol but a graded response was noted. The amount of exercise had more of an impact on cholesterol rather than the intensity, and the greater the amount of exercise, the more positive the impact on cholesterol. High intensity exercise seems more important in building cardiovascular conditioning.

The current recommendation from the American Heart Association for healthy heart living is to perform moderate to vigorous physical aerobic activity for at least 30min on most, if not all, days of the week. Brisk walking, aerobics, jogging, cycling, swimming, and sports that involve continuous running such as soccer or basketball all fall into this category. Weightlifting is not considered a sufficiently aerobic activity, although it is important in maintaining muscle mass. Even less vigorous and aerobic activities such as gardening, walking, and dancing do provide some long-term benefit. In general, any exercise is better than none. The greater amount of exercise per week, the greater the benefit one may gain not only in cholesterol levels, but overall mental and physical health.

Related Posts:

Lower Cholesterol with Effortless Exercises, Part 1

Lower Cholesterol with Effortless Exercises, Part 2