Newsroom | Community Health
Office Visit: Good and Bad Cholesterol
Aug. 20, 2025
Cholesterol plays a vital role in helping your body function properly. Knowing your numbers, the good and the bad, can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Cholesterol helps build cells in your body, make hormones, vitamin D and digest food. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, your body makes the blood cholesterol it needs to function. Dietary cholesterol, found in animal foods and dairy products, should be limited.
High levels of bad cholesterol, LDL, can clog the arteries and cause conditions, including heart disease and stroke. On the contrary, high levels of good cholesterol, HDL, can lower heart disease and stroke risks. A health care professional can check your cholesterol levels.
Here are some tips to help you lower your LDLs or bad cholesterol.
Consume a heart-healthy diet
Limit foods high in saturated fats like cheese, fatty meats and palm oil. Choose foods high in fiber like oatmeal and beans. Additionally, foods low in saturated fat such as avocados, olive oil and nuts can help increase HDLs.
Todd Hoffman, M.D.
Get regular physical activity and maintain a healthy weight
Two to three hours of moderate exercise a week can help lower LDL cholesterol and reduce excess weight.
Quit smoking and limit alcohol
Smoking damages blood vessels, speeds hardening of the arteries and significantly increases heart disease risk. Alcohol can raise cholesterol levels and triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood.
Manage stress
Chronic stress can elevate hormone levels, which can increase cholesterol production in the liver.
If your bad cholesterol levels are high, your provider may prescribe a statin. Statins help lower LDL cholesterol.
Talk to your doctor about measuring your cholesterol and taking steps to reduce your risk of serious complications.
Let’s make it a good month.
Todd Hoffman, M.D., C.P.E., is chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, a division of Health Care Service Corp., a Mutual Legal Reserve Company.