Cholesterol Lowering Foods and the Bus Inside Your Heart
There is little argument that saturated fats are the enemy in the battle against out of control cholesterol levels. The sobering realization is that products high in saturated fats are all around us. An example would be those delicious fast food fries cooked in high saturated fat oil you picked up on the way home from work yesterday! Definitely not our list of cholesterol lowering foods.
According to the latest research, most of the cholesterol lowering foods are plants that contain phytosterols. Phytosterols are cholesterol-like compounds. They are found in soy and pumpkin seeds, as well as other seeds and nuts.
When most people hear the word "cholesterol" they automatically think "danger". However, this waxy steroid is a vital part of what makes a body work properly. It is required by the body in order to promote healthy functioning of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone in women and testosterone in men. These specific hormones play a huge role in reproduction and triggering the development of a person's body. The body makes cholesterol on its own, but the majority of what is taken in, people get from foods that are high in fat. If your body is getting too much of these things, the waxy buildup can stick to the walls of the arteries and form plaque. This plaque makes it difficult for blood to pass through and can eventually block the artery completely. If you're interested in becoming healthier and reducing your chances of this happening what follows is a beneficial list. Cholesterol lowering foods may help you avoid suffering a heart attack.
Theaflavins are polyphenols found in tea leaves and work the same way as policosanol. Pumpkin seed oil helps lower LDL levels while vitamin E helps prevent oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Beta sitosterol binds to cholesterol and reduces its absorption in the body.
Cooking with vegetable oil, rather than butter or other types of animal fat, has long been recommended as part of a cholesterol diet. But, the latest information indicates that we need to be selective about the "type" of vegetable oil that we cook with.
Naturally, cholesterol lowering foods or herbs should be seriously considered, if you want real results. Let's start with food. High fiber diets help to regulate cholesterol levels. Fiber appends itself to cholesterol in the digestive system, and transports it out through the bowel, thus lowering cholesterol.
Try adding fiber rich foods to your diet once or twice a week. If you eat oatmeal for breakfast a few times a week this can really help to increase your overall fiber intake. You can vary the seasonings that you add to basic oatmeal in order to ramp up the benefits even more. Think about adding sliced or diced apples and cinnamon one day and berries the next. This can provide you with natural sweetness that many people crave and help you increase your intake of vitamins and minerals as well.
