High cholesterol can be inherited, but more often than not, it’s the result of lifestyle choices. There are certain factors that put you at a greater risk of developing high cholesterol including:

• Diet: Consuming a lot of saturated and trans fats can raise your LDL levels. While some high-saturated fat foods may already be on your radar (meats, dairy products, deep-fried foods), there are some sneaky sources too: chocolate, coffee creamer, and ice cream, to name a few. Foods high in trans fat include commercially baked cookies and crackers, microwave popcorn, and frozen pizza. Processed sugar can raise your triglyceride levels. If you're worried about your cholesterol, it's best to consume these foods in moderation. 
• Weight: While weight is not always an indicator of overall health, having a body mass index of 30 or more puts you at risk of high cholesterol.
• Activity levels: Exercise is a win-win for cholesterol: it boosts your good cholesterol levels (HDL) while reducing artery-clogging triglycerides and LDL. 
• Smoking:  Lung cancer isn't the only smoking-related health risk. As it turns out, cigarettes can throw your cholesterol out of whack, too. Smoking damages the walls of your blood vessels, making them more likely to accumulate fatty deposits. Cigarettes may also lower your good cholesterol levels. 
• Age: Your body goes through natural chemistry changes as it ages, putting you at higher risk for cholesterol buildup. For example, as your liver becomes less able to remove LDL cholesterol as you get older.‍
• Diabetes: Not only can high blood sugar damage the lining of your arteries, but it can also lower your good cholesterol levels. What's more, high blood sugar contributes to higher levels of dangerous cholesterol called very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL).

High cholesterol doesn't have any symptoms, so you may not know if you have it. To get a handle on your cholesterol levels, your doctor will need to perform a simple blood test called a lipoprotein profile, or cholesterol panel. Most healthy adults should have their cholesterol checked every 4 to 6 years. If you have either a personal or family history of heart disease or diabetes, you will need to get your cholesterol checked more often.

When it comes to high cholesterol, the best treatment is prevention. Since high cholesterol is often the result of your lifestyle choices, there are ways you can help keep it in check by simply making healthy lifestyle choices.

• Eat less “bad” fat. Try to lower the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol in your diet. Cutting back on carbohydrates and substituting meat with lower fat protein choice can help, too. 
• Maintain a healthy weight. If you’re overweight, losing weight can help reduce bad cholesterol.
• Get moving. Moderate exercise can lower cholesterol. Aim for 30 minutes five days of the week, if you can. 
• Moderation is key. Alcohol can raise cholesterol levels, so it’s a good idea to drink only in moderation.‍
• Manage stress. High levels of cortisol from chronic or long-term stress can cause high cholesterol, along with other heart disease risks.
  

If you already have high cholesterol, you may be able to lower it by changing your diet. While this method alone doesn’t work for everyone, you can still improve your overall health by eating better. In general, it’s a good idea to avoid or limit red meat, butter, fried foods, cheese, and other foods that have a lot of saturated fat. Other things that might help lower cholesterol include:

• Try a vegetarian or vegan diet: A vegetarian diet contains no meat while a vegan diet contains no animal products at all, including meat, eggs, or milk
• Nuts: Some studies show that eating certain nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, and pistachios, can help lower cholesterol and even the risk of heart attack or death.
• Eat more soluble fiber: Found in fruits, oats, barley, beans and peas
• Eggs: There are a lot of news stories about the health benefits or risks of eggs, but the truth is that eggs are a good source of protein and do not raise cholesterol much. Bottom line: Eggs are OK if you want to eat them, just don't overdo it.
• Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids: Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseed, oily fish, and olive and canola oil. These foods seem to raise good cholesterol and might lower certain types of bad cholesterol. More importantly, studies show that people who eat lots of these foods are less likely than those who eat less of them to have heart disease. If you want, it's fine to eat 1 to 2 servings of oily fish a week (such as salmon, herring, or tuna).

Research has also shown that some dietary supplements, like red yeast rice and omega-3 fatty acid supplements, might help lower cholesterol, but there is little evidence showing that supplements can help prevent heart attacks, strokes, or any of the problems caused by high cholesterol. Always talk to your clinician before starting any new supplements to ensure that they’ll be an effective treatment and that they won’t interact with your existing medications.

While cleaning up your diet and certain supplements can improve cholesterol levels, some people can’t manage their cholesterol through lifestyle changes alone. That’s when medications may be necessary. The most commonly prescribed medications for high cholesterol are commonly called  “statins”. These block your liver from producing more cholesterol. For people who cannot take statins, medications called cholesterol absorption inhibitors are another option.