How long does it take to lower cholesterol? 6 months. Or 6 years. Or more.

How long does it take to lower cholesterol? 6 months. Or 6 years. Or more.

You want to get back to the days when your cholesterol numbers were low – the young(er) self. Unfortunately, there is no straight answer to the question. There are various factors factors that affect the pace at which you can come back to lower numbers, and by the end of the post, you will be able to make a fair assessment of how long is it likely to take you.

What are your existing cholesterol levels?

One of the first things you need to establish is how far you are from the goal. The further away you are from the 200mg/Dl level, the longer the journey. When cholesterol control efforts are made, the LDL levels should drop at a steady pace over time rather than a matter of a few days. Think about it as a weight reduction exercise. You don’t measure it after every session at the gym, and it is the same with cholesterol.

What hard are you exercising?

Your fitness plan does not just decide whether you will be able to bring down your cholesterol levels, but also how much, and at what pace. 20 minutes of vigorous daily exercise and a low cholesterol diet will help you control your LDL levels. The longer and harder your heart beats, the more it unclogs your blood vessels. Go for an aggressive workout for better results.

A label suggesting that 30% reduction of triglycerides is possible with 180 minutes of weekly exercise

What are you eating?

Food alone has very little contribution in reducing cholesterol from your blood vessels. It can however, significantly contribute to the pace at which the deposits keep getting added. While you do all the hard work, what you eat determines whether the all that stuff is any good. Cholesterol lowering foods will help you work towards lowering your LDL (and even increasing your HDL) levels. They will also help reduce obesity, thereby improving your chances of speedy reduction of LDL. A 5-10% reduction in your body weight will reduce cholesterol by 15% and triglycerides by 20%

A label suggesting that 20% reduction of LDL is possible with 5-10% reduction in body weight

What is your medication?

Medicines are the most straightforward and quickest way to lower your LDL levels. The most popular class of cholesterol medication – stains – provides the liver with an enzyme which reduces the production of cholesterol. Since the stains start working within hours, cholesterol levels will start dropping within 2-4 weeks by almost 50%. However, there have been arguments and counter arguments to consuming stains at young age, and you would do well to consult a doctor before taking any major decision.

A label suggesting that 50% reduction of triglycerides is possible within 4 weeks of cholesterol lowering medication

Finally…

Once the cholesterol levels are under control, there is still more to do. Maintaining low levels of cholesterol in your bloodstream is a lifelong commitment and cannot be done away with. A few weeks of lethargy, binge eating, missed medications and lack of exercise can bring those levels back up quickly.

While there are various other factors which will affect your cholesterol levels and the pace at which you can bring them down (such as genetics, stress etc), medication, diet and fitness will always be the primary drivers. It is not uncommon for people to report reduction in cholesterol levels to normal within 6 months without medication and within 4-6 weeks with medication.

Refer:
http://www.ayushveda.com/ayurveda-articles/cholesterol.htm
https://cholesterol-at-30.com/2016/03/01/how-long-does-it-take-to-lower-cholesterol/