Lowering Cholesterol

How to Lower Cholesterol

Lowering cholesterol is currently the primary focus in preventing atherosclerosis and heart attacks. No matter what your age is or the state of your health, you can reduce the risks of serious problems by controlling your cholesterol, and it's not as hard as you think.

In the past few years, people aware about the danger of bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) in blood. They make some efforts to lower the cholesterol, such as drug treatment and lifestyle changes including the change of eat pattern. Unfortunately, not all of their efforts take effect, even some of them feel frustrated and hopeless with the condition.

One way for lowering cholesterol including low consumed of saturated fat and the other foods that contain the cholesterol. Some opinion said that without consume the fats completely in their diet, will be able to lower cholesterol and prevent the chronic diseases, like heart attack, strokes and other problems.

Why lowering of high blood cholesterol is important? The main risk associated with high cholesterol is cardiovascular disease (CVD). This includes diseases of the heart and blood vessels. High cholesterol causes blood vessels becoming narrowed with fatty deposits called plaques. This can result in heart attacks, strokes and blood vessel problems.

Anyway, cholesterol is needed for your body. It develops and repairs cell, it is needed to produce your sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone, it is converted to bile acids to help you digest food and it is found in large amounts in important organ such as brain. It is also needed to dissolve vitamin A, D, E and K.

How diet can lowering your blood cholesterol? There is only a small amount of cholesterol comes directly from your diet, the majority is produced by your liver. Of course, you have to know what nutrients are implied in the food that you eat. However, if your diet is high in saturated fats and cholesterol, this can cause your liver to produce more bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol). The effectiveness of this diet varies from person to person.

According to experts, there are four ways for lowering your cholesterol:

• Eating a healthy diet.

Eat more fruits and vegetables not only for their fiber but also for their phytochemical they contain. Cut down on saturated fats and trans-fats.

• Exercising & Losing weight.
  

A brisk 30 minutes walk around the block is sufficient to get your blood circulating. If you feel your body is over weight, get start your weight loss program now.

• Taking medicine -- drug treatment.
  

Various medications can lower blood cholesterol levels. They may be prescribed individually or in combination with other drugs. Your doctor will determine the best drug or combination for you.

• Changing your lifestyle.
  

Reduce your alcohol intake. Don't smoke and if you have been smoking, stop immediately.

So, you can do various efforts for lowering your cholesterol level, for example eat the healthy diet or sports. Lowering cholesterol with special treatment is only done when you still not yet obtained the wanted result.

Healthy Food Choice

Cholesterol is produced by your lever. The rest is depending of food that you eat. If your food is high in saturated fats and cholesterol, this can cause your liver to produce more cholesterol. Most food products from animals contain saturated fats and cholesterol. A few vegetable fats such as coconut oil, cocoa butter (found in chocolate), palm kernel oil, and palm oil are high in saturated fat.

Losing as little as 5 to 10 kilograms can make a big difference to your cholesterol levels and significantly reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke

But lowering cholesterol isn't just about what you shouldn't eat. It also means eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, with whole grains, high-fiber foods, lean meats and poultry, fish at least twice a week, and at least 1 percent fat dairy products. And also, the diet should be low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol.

If you are wondering what you can do to maintain your cholesterol levels at a lower level, you can try these tips:

• Eat Oatmeal

Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which can lower cholesterol levels especially the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or the bad cholesterol. Soluble fiber appears to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines. Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, apples, pears, psyllium, barley and prunes. Each foods contain several amount of dietary fiber. Eat ten grams or more of soluble fiber in a day can lower your total and LDL cholesterol level.

• Eat Fish

Eating fatty fish can cause lowering your cholesterol because of its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 helps lower the triglyceride level in your blood. Replace just a few meals a week with fish. The highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids are in mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon. Omega-3 fatty acids also help the heart in other ways such as reducing blood pressure and the risk of blood clots.

• Walnut, Almonds

Walnuts are rich of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Walnuts help to keep your blood vessels healthy and elastic. Walnuts also can significantly lowering blood cholesterol. Almonds appear to have a similar effect. Replace foods high in saturated fat with nuts to avoid weight gain. You can add a handful of walnuts or almonds instead of the saturated fat in your salad.

• Olive Oil or Canola Oil

Olive oil and canola oil are much healthier. Use 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil a day to get heart-healthy benefits. To add olive oil to your diet, you can sauté vegetables in it, add it to a marinade, or mix it with vinegar as a salad dressing.

• Plain and Simple, Exercise more

Thirty minutes a day of exercise, three to four days a week, can make a drastic change in your health level. Light exercises such as gardening and walking, has been shown in studies to increase the high-density lipoprotein {HDL}, or good cholesterol in your blood.

Summary:
• Eat less high in saturated fat
• Substitute the saturated fat with unsaturated fat
• Eat less high-cholesterol food
• Choose foods high in starch and fiber
• Exercises

I suggest you check out my other post on Nutrient Guidelines for Lowering Cholesterol

High Fiber Foods Diet

Your best fiber choices

If you aren't getting enough fiber each day, you may need to boost your intake. Good choices include:

Grains and whole-grain products

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Beans, peas and other legumes
• Nuts and seeds
  

Refined or processed foods such as fruit juice, white bread and pasta, and non-whole-grain cereals are lower in fiber content. The grain-refining process removes the outer coat (bran) from the grain, which lowers its fiber content. Similarly, removing the skin from fruits and vegetables decreases their fiber content.

So what foods are your best bets? This list shows the amount of dietary fiber in several types of foods.

Food Item	Fiber content in grams
Split peas, cooked, 1 cup	16.3
Red kidney beans, boiled, 1 cup	13.1
Raspberries, raw, 1 cup	8.0
Whole-wheat spaghetti, 1 cup	6.3
Oat bran muffin,medium	5.2
Broccoli, boiled, 1 cup	5.1
Apple, medium with skin	4.4
Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked, 1 cup	4.0
Green beans, cooked, 1 cup	4.0
Brown rice, cooked, 1 cup 3.5	3.5
Popcorn, air-popped, 2 cups	2.3
Pear, medium with skin	5.1

*Fiber content can vary between brands.


Source: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, 2007


Whole foods rather than fiber supplements are generally better. Fiber supplements such as Metamucil, Citrucel and FiberCon don't provide the vitamins, minerals and other beneficial nutrients that high-fiber foods do. However, some people may still need a fiber supplement if dietary changes aren't sufficient, or if they have certain medical conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome. Check with your doctor if you feel you need to take fiber supplements.

source link: www.mayoclinic.com

Other post you might be interested in reading: Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Fish and Nutrient Guidelines for Lowering Cholesterol

Cholesterol Triglyceride

What You Should Know About Cholesterol Triglycerides

by Rudy Silva

You know about cholesterol but do you know about cholesterol triglyceride. Cholesterol triglyceride is a lipid, which is a type of fat. As lipoproteins circulate in your arteries, they tend to deposit their fat on your artery walls. This process is always occurring, but the problem is when you have high cholesterol triglyceride you create high lipoproteins. Clinical studies show that people with high cholesterol triglyceride are more prone to heart disease. The reason is that there aren't any drugs that can lower cholesterol triglyceride, so doctors don't often discuss this part of the cholesterol picture.

So to reduce your susceptibility for heart disease, you need to reduce your cholesterol triglyceride.

Here is a list of some of the damage high cholesterol triglycerides can do:
• At 200 ml/dl your risk for coronary artery disease doubles
• At 200 ml/dl women have a higher risk of artery disease than men
• High triglyceride levels make you prone to kidney and pancreas diseases

Exercise regularly - the way you exercise makes a difference on your cholesterol triglyceride level. Diet - Eat a balanced diet that's low in sugar, simple carbohydrates, and processed foods. Fiber will help you keep your cholesterol triglycerides low.

There you have it, concentrate your efforts on keeping your cholesterol triglycerides low by eating a cholesterol diet -eat less processed fats, less processed foods, exercising throughout the day, less carbohydrate, and eating more fiber.

A Guide For A Cholesterol Triglyceride Lowering Diet

by Len Gibb

What are triglycerides? Triglycerides are major components of LDL or low density lipoprotein. If it is determined that raised levels of triglycerides are present, then some form of cholesterol triglyceride lowering diet should be implemented.

An example of a cholesterol triglyceride lowering diet should contain aggressive changes in the daily intake of food. These changes should include fat intake, sodium intake, and of course cholesterol intake. Cholesterol intake should be limited to less than three hundred milligrams.

Once some form of cholesterol triglyceride lowering diet is implemented, a way to hasten the lowering of blood cholesterol levels would be to also implement an aerobic exercise program. This aerobic exercise will help strengthen the cardiovascular system and also help the body metabolize the excess cholesterol and triglycerides.

The first two parts consisting of diet and exercise and the third being the use of herbal supplements.

Cholesterol Normal Levels

Cholesterol normal levels, below 200 mg/dL for total cholesterol is normal and puts you at a much lower risk for heart disease. HDL cholesterol is good, which means higher levels are better. For men, 40 to 50 mg/dL is normal and women normally range between 50 to 60 mg/dL. For LDL cholesterol normal levels are below 130 mg/dL. Normal triglyceride levels fall below 150 mg/dL.

Cholesterol normal
One of the most frequent causes of death in the US is heart disease, and one of the leading causes of heart disease is high cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a normal and necessary part of the human body generated by our livers that helps build and hold together the cells and tissues in our organs.

The liver produces enough cholesterol to let the body function, but we also ingest cholesterol through food. The more saturated the content of our food, the more cholesterol. Too much cholesterol clogs the arteries as plaque and often leads to heart attack or stroke.

High cholesterol may also lead to the chest pains associated with angina by blocking oxygen supplies to the heart. Genetics may play a part in your likelihood of maintaining a cholesterol level that is normal. Some genes make even people who don't eat food with high saturated fat content at risk for high cholesterol.

To take a risk assessment test for high cholesterol or to see if your cholesterol levels are normal, visit helpfightcholesterol.com. Make an appointment with your physician to test to see if your cholesterol is normal or if you may need to take medication.

Many people with high cholesterol levels achieve a cholesterol normal level with the help of medication in combination with diet and exercise. Common medications to get cholesterol to normal include Lipitor, Crestor, and Zetia.

Each time you lower your cholesterol levels by 1% and get that much closer to a cholesterol normal level, your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other cholesterol-related disease decreases by 2%! Why put off striving for a "cholesterol normal" kind of life when even such a small change can make twice as much difference to the improvement to your health?

What's the first step to striving for a "cholesterol normal" kind of lifestyle? A diet that's low in saturated fat. Low fat foods that could contribute to a "cholesterol normal" level include fruits, vegetables, rice, cereals, pasta, fish, shellfish, seeds, nuts, and vegetable oils.

You don't have to give up meat and other foods you love entirely, though, just watch the level of fats and cholesterol you ingest. Speak with a doctor or nutritionist to find the "cholesterol normal" diet that is right for you. Typical cholesterol normal diets consist of food with a total level of less than 200-300 mg of cholesterol per day.

Exercising regularly is always important for good health and striving for a cholesterol normal kind of life is no different! You should discuss your personal exercise routine with a doctor or licensed trainer.

A good routine to start with until then is 20-60 minutes of strength training exercises like lifting weights twice a week coupled with 20-60 minutes of aerobics exercise like walking or jogging three times a week. Even just starting small and talking a walk around the park during your lunch hour brings you one step closer to a cholesterol normal kind of life!

The best way to ensure a normal cholesterol level is to take preventative action! Eat a low fat diet, make regular appointments with your doctor to test your cholesterol levels, exercise regularly, and strive for a cholesterol normal kind of life!

by Frank Vanderlugt

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Fish

Omega-3 fatty acids have many potential beneficial effects including improving cognitive function in developing children, decreasing triglycerides, lowering bad cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, reducing blood clotting, enhancing immune function, and possibly others. However, the strongest benefit from omega-3 fatty acids is reducing the risk of sudden cardiac death, which appears to be due to decreasing the risk of abnormal heart rhythms.

Fish contain unsaturated fatty acids, which, when substituted for saturated fatty acids such as is contained in meat, may lower serum cholesterol. Fatty fish such as salmon, herring, and to a lesser extent tuna, contain the most omega-3 fatty acids.

But, you should pay attention to the type of fish you eat, how much you eat, and other information. The major contaminant found in fish is mercury. This element occurs naturally in trace amounts in the environment. Microorganisms in the water convert the mercury to a highly toxic form, called methyl mercury. Methyl mercury is particularly harmful to the development of the brain and nervous system of an unborn child and young children.

The health benefits of fish also apply to women who are or may become pregnant as well as to children, but both of these groups should limit their consumption. In general, about 6 ounces (two 3-ounce servings) a week are recommended, with an emphasis on omega-3-rich fish. Women and children should limit consumption to no more than 6 ounces of canned tuna a week, no more than 12 ounces of most other fish, and avoid certain fish altogether (shark, swordfish and others). That's because women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, nursing mothers, and children under age 12 are most susceptible to the potential effects of toxins in fish. They need to limit the amount of fish they eat.

Other non-fish food options that do contain some omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts, canola oil, soybeans and soybean oil. However, the benefits from eating these foods isn't as strong as it is from eating fish.

by Donald D. Hensrud, M.D.

Other post you might be interested in reading: Nutrient Guidelines for Lowering Cholesterol

Nutrient Guidelines for Lowering Cholesterol

High cholesterol in blood can improve the risk of atherosclerosis, gagging of artery can cause a heart attack. The good news is you can reduce this risk by taking care of your food. Eat some healthy food is an effective way for lowering cholesterol in your blood. Experience the healthy diet can assist for lowering total cholesterol and bad cholesterol (LDL), lowering blood pressure, lowering glucose, and loses the body weight.

If you worry that your food contains bad cholesterol or other fat, the following fat nutrient information can assist you to identify what kind of fat in your food:

1. Saturated fat : is a solid fat, it can increase the cholesterol level very fast. Foods that contain of saturated fat are:
• Fatty meats, including beef; gammon; fat of chicken flesh; the skin
• Fatty milk, including fresh milk; ordinary yogurt; solid cheese; ice-cream; cream butter
• Coconut oil; palm oil; chocolates

2. Monounsaturated fat : is a liquid fat, can reduce the cholesterol level but cannot effect the good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol). Foods that contain of monounsaturated fat are:
• Legume including peanut, almond, walnut and pistachios
• Avocado, olive, and other fatty vegetables
• Bean oil, olive oil and canola oil

3. Polyunsaturated fat : is a liquid fat, can reduce the cholesterol level but also can reduce good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol). Foods that contain of polyunsaturated fat are:
• Soybean; chestnut; walnut
• Corn oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and cotton seed oil


You must choose wisely

Always remember to less in saturated fat consumption. If adding fat, use the fat considering high monounsaturated fat be like olive and peanut oil. American Heart Association, suggest to consuming less than 300 mg of cholesterol in a day.

The tips below should be followed for a period of one month, and then you should get your cholesterol level checked again to see the results of the diet.

1. The first thing you have to do is to reduce the amount of red meat in your daily alimentation. You will replace it with white meat (poultry) and fish which have a low fat level. Buy the leanest cuts of meat you can find. Regularly substitute poultry (without the skin) and fish for red meat. Both are lower in saturated fat.

2. It is absolutely necessary for you to eliminate or at least to eat less saturated fats. This means that you should start having skimmed milk, low cholesterol spread or light cheese, instead of your normal foods. Switch to low fat cottage cheese and yogurt, reduced fat hard cheeses and skim or 1 percent milk. These light products may not be as tasty as the fat ones, but they care save your life.

3. A healthy diet means a healthy digestion. Foods that are high in fiber (like whole grain cereals or muesli) will eventually help you lower cholesterol by eliminating the dietary fats. Lowest fat foods of all are vegetables, fruits, grains (rice, barley and pasta), beans and legumes. Try substituting some of these for meat and high fat dairy products. Don't douse your pasta with butter or your potato with sour cream. Use tomato base sauces instead of cream base. Use lemon juice, low sodium soy sauce or herbs to season vegetables.

4. Stop frying your food and start grilling them. It prevents the loss of vitamins from the vegetables; therefore you will eat healthier.

5. Lose weight. If you are overweight, the chances are almost 100% that you have a problem with high cholesterol. You can lower your LDL and elevate your HDL just by dropping some pounds. Eat fewer fatty foods and more fruits, vegetables, grains and beans and it's a pretty good bet that you will slowly but surely lose weight.

Keep in mind that this diet it is not very difficult to respect, it requires strength of will and determination to retain yourself from eating the ‘bad’ foods.

Other post you might be interesting in reading: Starting Your Weight Loss Program

Starting Your Weight Loss Program

After one more look in the mirror you wish you could be looking at the you 20 years ago. The one that was slim and sleek and toned. More importantly, you wish you could be the you 20 years ago right now. You don't want to get on a weight loss program where you must wait months or years to get that svelte body. Yet, it took 20 years of unhealthy eating for you to accumulate all those extra pounds.

If you want weight loss, and you want it now, you can have it. But first, you must set a goal. You must plan how to reach that goal. Once your goal is set, and your weight loss program is in place, it is time to learn techniques of self-management in order to reach that goal.

Losing weight can be as simple as committing to taking a morning walk. Walking is an easy, inexpensive way to start your weight loss program. Try brisk or aerobic walking for at least a mile at first. Beware, as early as the second day, your body will start complaining to you and trying to convince you to crawl back in bed and sleep for two more hours. Now is the time to teach your body that you are the boss. Self- management and discipline are not easy traits to develop. Just keep your mind focused on the goal - and that picture of yourself naked in the mirror that brought you to this. If you don't stick with the weight loss plan, you are stuck with that body or worse for the rest of your life.

Walking alone is not quite as much fun as walking with someone. If you have a dog, walking him can help you accomplish your weight loss goal. Walking is beneficiary for more than just losing weight. The fresh air (hope it's fresh) will clear your mind and your body of toxins. Walking is a way to release stress.

When you weigh yourself and see that you have begun to shed pounds, congratulate yourself. Celebrate by - no, not having a double banana split - challenging yourself and trying new adventures. Now may be a good time to read and learn about Ashtanga and Bikram Yoga.
Also, realize that the foods we eat are the biggest part of our weight loss problem AND solution. Mediterranean and Indian cultures consume way less or no meat. They don't have the obesity rates we Americans do. Why not study their eating habits, try some recipes?
It is possible to regain that body you had 20 years ago, but a part of the solution is discovering yourself.

by Kevin Nutter

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1271519