How I Naturally Lowered my Cholesterol
Inflammation affects pretty much all aspects of our health. It is one of the root causes of most chronic diseases and typically gets worse as we age (especially for women as they hit peri/menopause).
I learned a few years ago that inflammation is also very closely tied to cholesterol levels. We get some cholesterol from saturated fats in our diets (about 15-20%), but the majority is created by our bodies as a protective measure in response to inflammation. As someone cursed with a close family history of all the chronic health diseases (heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer), I'm very interested in avoiding all of these issues.
I have had elevated cholesterol since my 20s, and even though I've had really good health routines in place over the last decade, my LDL (bad cholesterol) just kept going up. So I decided to pay attention to what in my daily life might be contributing to inflammation. I got labs drawn in March of 2025 to have benchmarks to compare to, then gave myself 9 months to work on reducing inflammation.
I started by paying attention to what in my daily life negatively impacted how I felt. In the morning, my skin was always glowy, eyes were clear and I felt hydrated. But as soon as I had my first few sips of coffee, I would immediately feel dehydrated, my eyes would puff up, my skin would look dull and I would feel irritable. I have sensitive skin and when my body is unhappy, my skin is often the first indicator.
I really loved coffee, so it took awhile to psych myself up to cut it out. But holy moly did it make a difference. Instead of coffee, I started drinking matcha lattes (see my fave recipe below!)
I noticed after trying out other types of teas (black tea, other herbal teas), that just taking out coffee wasn't enough. The addition of matcha was a major element in keeping inflammation at bay. As I dug further, I learned green tea is really effective for supporting a healthy gut and has polyphenols that help fight oxidative stress (aka cellular aging).
I went back to the doctor for labs in December and was SHOCKED by the results. My LDL (bad cholesterol) levels reduced by 30 points to a level I hadn't seen since my early 20s and my total cholesterol was within the normal range. My A1C (which measures blood sugar control over 3 months) also went down significantly. Inflammation affects blood sugar, so that improvement makes sense.
I know removing coffee sounds really scary. You don't necessarily have to. It doesn't affect everyone the way it affects me, so if you feel good drinking coffee, keep it. Drinking paper filtered coffee helps take out cafestol and kahweol, oils which have been shown to contribute to high LDL cholesterol. The processing of coffee is also important to consider. Most coffee crops are heavily sprayed with pesticides and many brands have a high mold content. Using clean, organic brands that are tested for mold can definitely help reduce inflammation.
Regardless of what you decide to do about coffee, you can always ADD in matcha, which has many health benefits. If you don't like the flavor, try adding it to a smoothie. If you really hate matcha, there are a number of foods, herbs & supplements that can help reduce inflammation. I'm always happy to work 1:1 to figure out a plan. But I will remind you that there is no magic bullet and while certain foods and supplements are helpful, good health foundations (sleep, nutrition, movement) should always come first.
Humans are bio-individual, meaning we all react differently to different foods. What I encourage you to do is pay attention to what makes you feel good and also to what might be contributing inflammation.
Some common signs of inflammation:
Redness/rashes/eczema (skin)
Swelling/bloating
Digestive issues (diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas, reflux)
Fatigue
Cold sores
Joint pain
High blood sugar
High cholesterol
AST/ALT labs out of range (liver markers)
I'll be following this up with my adventures in gut health next month. Stay tuned to hear how I tortured my husband with herbs and supplements for a month.