Some Basics For Lowering Your Cholesterol Levels

It is not news that high levels of cholesterol have been linked with a variety of diseases. It can be brought about by a number of things. One of them is by following a diet that is high in saturated fat and LDL or “bad” cholesterol, which is the type of diet that most people seem to have nowadays. Prolonged regular inactivity or lack of proper exercise, smoking and drinking habits can also contribute to the unhealthy increase of bad cholesterol levels.

This can be dangerous because high cholesterol may lead to heart disease in the long term. Heart disease is known to be the number one killer in the United States up until recently. The higher the level of blood cholesterol levels in an individual, the more likely it is that he will be developing heart disease later on. Aside from that high cholesterol levels can also put a person at risk of suffering from a stroke or a heart attack.

A healthy lifestyle can help a lot in trying to reduce high cholesterol levels and therefore reduce the risk of developing heart disease. The earlier an individual starts such a practice, the less likely he or she will be suffering from the effects of heart disease with age. Following a healthy lifestyle include taking part in a regular exercise routine as well as eating a low cholesterol diet.

If you are trying to formulate a low cholesterol diet plan, you should be able to have a clear idea of what you will be doing and what it will take. Knowing and understanding your objectives of following a low cholesterol diet will make you more likely adhere to it not just as a fad diet. Before you begin indulging in any strict diet like a low cholesterol diet program, you should have some idea on why some foods are better for you than others.

The basic idea behind every low cholesterol diet plan is to try to decrease the total intake of saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol in the body not only to reduce cholesterol and fat levels but also to lose some weight. The different types of foods that will be able to do this for you include mainly fruits and vegetables.

Foods belonging in this group have very high fibre content. Dietary fibre soaks cholesterol like sponge and helps get rid of it by disposing it out of the body. Fruits such as apples, oranges and pears are high in fibre content. This also includes oats and carrots that you can add to your diet. These can be just as effective at reducing blood cholesterol as medication. A vegetarian diet can lower cholesterol by as much as one-third in just a month.

The best cholesterol-lowering diet that you can follow usually includes a hearty serving of vegetables such as broccoli and red peppers. Soy milk and soy sausages, oat bran cereal and bread as well as plenty of fruits and nuts make up a complete low cholesterol diet. Soy protein, nuts, and fibre rich food such as oats and barley can effectively cut cholesterol levels by up to seven percent.

A low cholesterol diet also requires you to minimize your intake of saturated fat by seven percent and other fat substances by 25-35 percent. It has been discovered that the best diet for avoiding coronary heart disease includes consuming non-hydrogenated (unprocessed) fats rather than the hydrogenated variety. Increased consumption of omega-3 fats from fish, fish oil or plant sources such as flaxseeds is the suggested fat intake in a low cholesterol diet. With a low cholesterol diet, one should also limit daily sodium intake somewhere in the level of 2400 milligrams daily.

A typical day on the low cholesterol diet would include a hearty breakfast of soymilk, oat bran cereal with chopped fruit and almonds, oatmeal bread, vegetable-based margarine and jam. A typical low cholesterol lunch would comprise of soy cold cuts, oat bran bread, bean soup and a dessert of fruit.  For dinner, stir-fry vegetables, tofu, fruit and almonds are recommended.

The paragraph above shows examples of diet plans centred on cholesterol reduction. By following this type of low cholesterol diet religiously for long periods, it is possible for one’s cholesterol level to drop by as much as 29 percent in just a month. For more information about good eating habits, grab yourself a copy of the Strategic Nutrition Guide today.

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Also published on Medium.