Proper diet, exercise, and certain medications can bring lipids (fats in the blood) down to safer levels and reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Those who inherit only one copy of the defective gene may respond well to diet changes combined with statin drugs. The first step is to change what you eat. You typically follow a modified diet for several months before your doctor adds on medications. You'll be told to decrease fat intake to less than 30% of the total calories you get each day. You can reduce fat intake by: Eating less beef, pork, and lamb; Choosing low-fat dairy products; Avoiding coconut and palm oil. Cholesterol intake is reduced by avoiding: Egg yolks; Organ meats; Sources of animal-derived saturated fat. Further reductions in the percentage of fat in the diet may be recommended. For more information, see: Heart disease and diet . Exercise, especially to induce weight loss, may also aid in lowering cholesterol levels. Drug therapy may be started if diet, exercise, and weight-loss efforts have not lowered your cholesterol levels over time. Several cholesterol-lowering drugs are available, including: Bile acid sequestrant resins (cholestyramine and colestipol); Fenofibrate; Gemfibrozil; Nicotinic acid (niacin); Statin drugs . In rare cases, persons who inherited two copies of the defective gene may need surgery such as a liver transplant.
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