A doctor has revealed that a simple two-minute habit could help \u201cbring down cholesterol\u201d. This could therefore also lower your risk of heart attacks and strokes.<\/p>\n
High cholesterol, also known as hypercholesterolemia, is a significant concern in the UK, with approximately two in five adults thought to be living with the condition – many possibly unaware. It happens when there’s too much cholesterol – a fatty, waxy substance – in your bloodstream.<\/p>\n
Doctor Suraj Kukadia<\/a> explained that even just two minutes of exercise at a time is beneficial. Speaking on social media platform TikTok<\/a>, the medic said: \u201cExercise also helps to bring down cholesterol levels, with high intensity interval training [HIIT] having the highest burden of evidence behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Kukadia, who is better known as Dr Sooj, continued: \u201cHowever, I know that this isn’t for everyone. Therefore, even just taking two minutes at regular intervals during your day and just doing star jumps or press-ups or even just walking up and down the stairs 20 times can really help to improve your exercise tolerance, increase your activity, and therefore bring down your cholesterol levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Exercise is a key part of the NHS recommendations to help lower cholesterol. On its website<\/a>, the health body says you should aim to do \u201cat least\u201d 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week.<\/p>\n Some \u201cgood things\u201d to try when starting out include:<\/p>\n Walking \u2013 try to walk fast enough so your heart starts beating fasterSwimmingCycling<\/p>\n The NHS added: \u201cTry a few different exercises to find something you like doing. You’re more likely to keep doing it if you enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n Research on exercise and cholesterol<\/p>\n This guidance is supported by scientific studies, including a review published in the Journal of Heart and Circulatory Physiology<\/a>, which demonstrated that regular physical activity lowers levels of ” cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) levels. Researchers said it does this by stimulating the body to move bad cholesterol to your liver so it can be removed from the body.<\/p>\n