What is the best diet/fitness plan to lower cholesterol and triglycerides?

Dyslipidemia is elevation of plasma cholesterol and/or TGs or a low HDL level that contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. Causes may be primary (genetic) or secondary. Diagnosis is by measuring plasma levels of total cholesterol, TGs, and individual lipoproteins. Treatment is dietary changes, exercise, and lipid-lowering drugs.

Cholesterol --Get your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels checked at least once a year. (Target: Below 100 mg/dL). Triglycerides. (Target: Less than 150 mg/dL) Serum Cholesterol (Target: Less than 200 mg/dL) HDL (good cholesterol) (Target: More than 50 mg/dL)

Eat a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. This kind of diet includes cottage cheese, fat-free milk, fish (not canned in oil), vegetables, poultry, egg whites, and polyunsaturated oils and margarines (corn, safflower, canola, and soybean oils). Avoid foods with excess fat in them such as meat (especially liver and fatty meat), egg yolks, whole milk, cream, butter, shortening, lard, pastries, cakes, cookies, gravy, peanut butter, chocolate, olives, potato chips, coconut, cheese (other than cottage cheese), coconut oil, palm oil, and fried foods.

Changes in lifestyle habits are the main therapy for hypertriglyceridemia. These are the changes you need to make:

• If you're overweight, cut down on calories to reach your ideal body weight. This includes all sources of calories, from fats, proteins, carbohydrates and alcohol.

• Reduce the saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol content of your diet.

• Reduce your intake of alcohol considerably. Even small amounts of alcohol can lead to large changes in plasma triglyceride levels.

• Be physically active for at least 30 minutes on most or all days each week.

• People with high triglycerides may need to substitute monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — such as those found in canola oil, olive oil or liquid margarine — for saturated fats. Substituting carbohydrates for fats may raise triglyceride levels and may decrease HDL ("good") cholesterol in some people.

• Substitute fish high in omega-3 fatty acids instead of meats high in saturated fat like hamburger. Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Natural Cholesterol Guide?

Try Lipitor or similar drug and do not worry so much. Diet and exercise are ineffective in people who make their own cholesterol.