Managing Stress to Reduce Cholesterol

About a third of U.S. adults have high levels of LDL cholesterol, the “bad” kind that builds up on walls of arteries and blood vessels—and increases the risk of a heart attack and stroke. That’s not surprising, given that more than half of the average American’s diet consists of ultra-processed foods, which can contribute to high cholesterol.

What’s more surprising is another cause of high cholesterol. Stress can drive your cholesterol up to harmful levels. People who are constantly stressed face even more danger, as their cholesterol levels can remain elevated for weeks or even months.

To protect your heart and other vital organs, it’s important to control your cholesterol levels. Reducing stress through various techniques can help lower cholesterol and your risk.

Stress and Cholesterol Link

The kinds of foods you eat play a significant role in the level of cholesterol in your blood. Consuming foods with a lot of saturated fats, trans fats, and refined carbohydrates increases LDL cholesterol. Saturated fats reduce the liver’s ability to clear LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream. Trans fats have an especially negative impact, as they accelerate the breakdown of HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce the body’s ability to remove LDL cholesterol.

Stress also has a substantial role in elevating cholesterol levels. When you are stressed, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline, two hormones that help you respond to stress by flooding your bloodstream with fatty acids and glucose for quick energy. However, this signals the liver to produce more LDL cholesterol, while impairing the body’s ability to clear it.

Temporary stress causes brief spikes in cholesterol, which usually return to normal after the stress has passed. Chronic stress, such as dealing with long-term financial issues or relationship problems, can keep cholesterol levels high for long periods of time.

Part of the problem is that stress can cause people to eat more ultra-processed foods, as their high-sugar and high-fat content tends to make stressed-out people temporarily feel better. However, stress-induced eating also drives up cholesterol levels.

To control cholesterol, it is important to both eat healthy and manage stress.

Lowering Cholesterol with Stress Management

While any form of stress management can help control cholesterol, studies have shown that mind-body practices like mindfulness meditation, deep-breathing exercises, and yoga are most effective at lowering cholesterol. 

• Meditation practiced one to two times a day can help reduce cortisol release, thus lowering the liver’s cholesterol production. Meditation is not a replacement for medical treatment or a healthy diet, but it does support healthier cholesterol levels.
• Yoga and controlled breathing exercises over an 8- to 12-week period resulted in a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (fat in the blood), clinical trials found. There were also increases in HDL cholesterol levels.
• Behavior change to increase awareness of stress triggers and be more mindful about stress eating helps reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods and control cholesterol levels.

Other forms of stress management you may wish to practice include:

• Talking with friends and family, either in person, on the phone, or online can help relieve anxiety and stress.
• Volunteering in your community can make you feel good about doing something for others, which helps alleviate stress.
• Journaling to write down your thoughts and emotions can help clear your mind. Check out our blog article on journaling to improve your well-being. 
• Regular exercise, such as walking for 30 minutes every day, releases endorphins, a neurotransmitter that reduces stress and elevates mood.
• Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing a certain group of muscles for five seconds and then completely releasing them and relaxing. Start at your toes and work all the way up your body.
• Nature immersion, sitting or walking in a green space for 15 to 20 minutes a day, can help lower cortisol production.

Protect Your Heart’s Health

High cholesterol levels are harmful to your heart’s health in several ways. Plaque buildup caused by cholesterol in arteries can restrict flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. Plaque deposits can rupture, causing blockages that starve the heart of oxygen. Narrowed arteries force the heart to work harder to pump blood, causing it to become strained. Protect your heart’s health by getting your cholesterol checked regularly, eating healthy meals and snacks, and practicing stress management techniques.

For more information about stress, read our blog article on how to recognize and manage stress.