LDL cholesterol levels are of primary concern to your health care provider because LDLs deliver cholesterol to cells outside the liver, contributing to the buildup that can occur in your arteries. High HDL cholesterol levels are considered beneficial. How well diet and exercise reduce blood cholesterol levels depends on several things, including your initial blood cholesterol level, your genetic makeup, and how closely you stick to the diet. Reducing the amount of fat and cholesterol in the diet will reduce everyone s blood cholesterol levels to some extent. However, some people respond more readily to diet than others.
Some people respond more readily to diet than others.
Some people s livers are programmed to manufacture large amounts of cholesterol regardless of diet. These drugs bind to an enzyme in the liver that is involved in the manufacture of cholesterol, and block cholesterol production. Lowering cholesterol levels in liver cells like this stimulates removal of LDL cholesterol from the blood. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors reduce both total and LDL cholesterol levels. They also produce small increases in HDL cholesterol levels.