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There is much more advantage in changing your diet and exercising as a means to lower cholesterol than depending on drugs all the time. Some people take drugs, get their cholesterol levels lowered and after a few weeks the levels increase again. They then have to take the drugs again. Those who are able to work hard to change their diet completely are able to lower and maintain normal cholesterol levels for life. The difficult part is the ability to remain on a healthy eating diet plan for a long period. The choice is often yours to make; to eat well to keep the cholesterol down always or to eat anyhow to allow the levels go up at will, and then reach for the drugs. Also think of the potential effects of these drugs on overall health and wellness. Some of these drugs even cause diabetes. Think also of the potential harmful effect of cholesterol on your health and wellness; stroke, heart disease, among others. Exercise is key Get some exercise throughout the week. Walking briskly 30 minutes three times to five times a week will help lower your cholesterol levels. Exercise helps you to increase good cholesterol (HDL) levels, which protects your heart. Seize little opportunities that come your way daily to exercise. For example, when going into a storey building, choose to climb the staircase rather than riding in the lift. Choose the right food Do not eat fatty meat. It is best to grill or smoke your meat to remove all the fat from it before using it for stew or soup. Do not even fry that meat at all. Reduce the amount of fried foods that you take. Boil, grill and roast food more than you fry them. Eat early in the morning when you wake up. The food should be taken before work starts. If you zoom into the day�s activities without food, you force your body to feed itself on the energy it needs to move. The end result is high cholesterol. During the day, make it a point to adhere to good mealtimes. Eat lunch and supper early. Cook healthy meals and send them along to your workplaces to eat as lunch and even supper. This will help you avoid buying food. Most of what you find at food joints will give you high blood cholesterol so be careful. When you eat heavy meals after arriving at home late, you increase your blood cholesterol levels. Starchy and sugary foods will also increase certain components of the cholesterol profile. So over-reliance on breads, pastries, biscuits, soft drinks and fruit drinks are not a good thing. Eat wholemeal cereals, high-fibre vegetables and complete healthy meals all day. Fried foods will give you high blood cholesterol so boil, grill or roast your foods. Eat fish fresh, grilled or steamed. Fried fish is also part of the fried foods that can increase your cholesterol levels. Overheated oils in our normal stews and fried foods are very potent ingredients for cholesterol production. �Asanka� stews done without oil are the best for us all. It is no longer just enough to remove the fat from your meat. You have to move a step further; that is grill or smoke the fresh meat dry of any fat before you use it for soup or stew. Removing visible fat does not make a piece of meat lean. There are tons of fat embedded in the muscular structure of meat, be it chicken, mutton or pork. Grilling or smoking the meat dry does a lot of good. Do just that and do not forget to eat just a little piece of meat. Too much meat is bad. Talk to a dietician for a detailed diet plan that will help you lower your cholesterol because you will obtain more information and individuals differ in the body makeup. Also, most of what is out there in the system is quack and not scientific.