{"id":689049,"date":"2026-01-11T14:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/689049\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T14:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:22:15","slug":"what-is-ldl-cholesterol-and-how-do-you-lower-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/689049\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is LDL Cholesterol and How Do You Lower It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chances are, your cholesterol isn\u2019t something you think too much about. When it comes to your health, your thoughts may already be preoccupied with figuring out more ways to get protein<\/a>, how to get more sleep<\/a>, and whether you should do cardio before or after lifting weights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not to mention, according to a 2023 study published in JAMA Cardiology<\/a>, more than 40% of U.S. adults with high LDL cholesterol didn\u2019t know they had it. This means that there are a whole lot of people out there who are at an increased risk<\/a> of having a heart attack, stroke, or getting heart disease, and they don\u2019t even know it.<\/p>\n

The good news is that your cholesterol levels are something you can control. We asked cardiologists about how to do exactly that.<\/p>\n

What is LDL cholesterol?<\/p>\n

Cholesterol<\/a> is typically referenced generally and almost always negatively, but it\u2019s actually a bit more nuanced. Dr. Ethan Korngold, MD,<\/a> an interventional cardiologist who works with the health company Abbott, explains that cholesterol, which is a waxy fat-like substance found in the body, is essential to build cells and produce vitamins and hormones. \u201cHowever, too much cholesterol can cause problems because it narrows the arteries, blocking blood flow, which increases the risk of heart disease,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Cholesterol<\/a> is transported through the blood by lipoproteins, including two types of lipoproteins: high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL). HDL (often referred to as \u201cgood\u201d cholesterol) transports cholesterol to the liver, where it\u2019s then broken down and excreted. LDL transports cholesterol to cells, and as Dr. Korngold explained, too much of it can lead to plaque buildup in the arteries. That\u2019s why LDL cholesterol is often referred to as \u201cbad\u201d cholesterol.<\/p>\n

How do you know if you have high LDL cholesterol?<\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019re relatively young and generally in good health, preventing high LDL cholesterol is still important. Dr. Jason Hoff, MD<\/a>, a structural interventional cardiologist and assistant professor at Loma Linda University Health, says that cholesterol plaque buildup is something that can happen over time without you even realizing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something you can feel. It can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke, and the process often starts decades before symptoms appear, even as early as your 20s and 30s,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Walk with a Doc<\/a> CEO and cardiologist Dr. David Sabgir, MD<\/a>, says being proactive about your heart health is key to staying healthy. \u201cEven if you feel great, cholesterol can climb quietly, especially if you have a family history of heart disease,\u201d says Dr. Sabgir. \u201cHigh LDL cholesterol builds up over time and raises the risk for heart attack and stroke. The fix is simple. If we know our numbers and stay ahead of them, we can make a huge difference in our health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since you can\u2019t feel LDL cholesterol slowly creeping up, how do you know if yours is too high? All three cardiologists say that it requires a blood test from your doctor and it\u2019s something Dr. Korngold recommends everyone 20 and older have regularly checked. The American Heart Association says<\/a> that optimal LDL cholesterol is at or below 100 mg\/dL.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sabgir explains that genetics play a big role in causing high LDL cholesterol. Research published in the Journal of Lipid Research<\/a> estimates that 40 to 60% of high cholesterol is due to genetics. That means you could be working out regularly and hitting your nutrient goals and still have it.<\/p>\n

Something else that contributes to high LDL cholesterol that\u2019s out of your control is aging. \u201cAs you age, your body becomes less efficient at clearing bad cholesterol from the bloodstream, which increases your risk,\u201d Dr. Korngold says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chances are, your cholesterol isn\u2019t something you think too much about. When it comes to your health, your…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":689050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1203,105,966,4714,16,15,4715,2488,4711],"class_list":{"0":"post-689049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-food","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-heart-health","11":"tag-textbelowcentergridwidth","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-web","15":"tag-wellness","16":"tag-working-out"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115876917607700314","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=689049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/689050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=689049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=689049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=689049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}