Health and Fitness – Fitness Made Easy

High cholesterol inside your arteries, a dangerous change has taken place in the balance of  fatty substances that circulates in your bloodstream.

To keep your arteries from getting clogged up and prevent them from getting any more clogged up  -  you’ll need to lower your cholesterol.

But not all cholesterol is harmful.  Low density  lipoprotein  (LDL) cholesterol is the bad stuff;   high density lipoprotein  (HDL) cholesterol is beneficial, as it removes LDL from the blood. Often changes in diet and lifestyle are enough to bring cholesterol  levels back to a healthy balance.

Cut out the bad fats

• Eliminate as much saturated fat as possible from your diet.  That means switching to leaner cuts of meat and lower – fat choices of dairy products such as butter, milk, ice cream, cheese and yogurt. Cut out processed meats – such as salami, corned beef  and  pork pie – altogether.

• Avoid palm oil  and coconut oil, which are high in saturated fat. These so-called tropical oils are used in many processed foods, particularly biscuits and cakes. Another type of  fat, called TRANS-FATTY ACIDS should be avoided as much as possible. They are produced when plant ground oil are hydrogenated to produce solid spreads,  such as margarine’s. They have the same effect on cholesterol levels as saturated fat. Many shop-brought cakes, biscuits,  snack foods and even breads – contain these fats. To find them,  look for the word “HYDROGENATED” on the list of ingredients.

• Eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. That is the easiest way to feel full as you cut back on meat and other fatty foods. In addition to being low in fat and cholesterol-free, these foods contain lots of cholesterol-lowering fibre and vitamins and antioxidants that are good for your heart.

• If you love dark meat, try venison. This game meat has a fraction of the fat found in most of the beef  that is sold in supermarkets.  In fact it is as low in fat as most fish.  Marinate venison to improve its tenderness.

Get more good fats

• Numerous studies have shown that olive oil not only lowers  LDL  but also raises  HDL. One study found that people who ate about 2 tablespoons of olive oil a day had lower LDL levels in just one week. Use it in garlic bread, salad dressings, in place of margarine and  other oils when frying.

• Enjoy nuts. They are packed with healthy unsaturated fats including omega-3s. Walnuts and almonds seem to be especially good at lowering LDL. Eat a small handful a day and watch your cholesterol  levels drop. But nuts contain a lot of calories, so make sure you eat them instead of – not as well as other snacks.

• Have an avocado a day and you might lower your LDL by as much as 17%. Like nuts,  avocado are very high in fat, but it’s mainly the unsaturated kind.

• Eat peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter. It maybe high in calories, but of the fat it contains is unsaturated. Buy a “natural” brand that contains no hydrogenated oils.

Fish for omega-3s

• Fish is much more than a replacement for meat. It contains omega-3s  fatty acids, which actually lower LDL cholesterol. Aim to eat fish 3 times a week – even if  it’s tinned sardines or pilchards.  Your best bets are fresh mackerel, tuna and salmon, all very high in omega-3s. Interestingly, tinned loses almost all its beneficial oils during processing, although tinned sardines and most other tinned fish retain theirs.

• If you really detest fish, take a daily fish-oil supplement that contains both EPA and DHA. Take 1000mg twice a day.

• Cook with onions -  especially red onions. Onions are rich in HDL-raising sulphur compounds plus an antioxidant called quercetin,  which fights off   LDL  cholesterol. The red in onions is made up of further beneficial antioxidants known as flavonoids.

• FLAX SEEDS are great sources of omega- 3 fats and soluble fibre. Grind the nutty seeds and add them to your yogurt or breakfast cereal. One study found that eating two tablespoons of ground flax seeds a day cut LDL cholesterol by 18%.  Health food shops sell flax seeds  (linseed) and their oil,  but for high cholesterol you are better off  eating the seeds. If you buy whole seeds then grind them  before you eat them,  or they will pass straight through your digestive system without being broken down.

Put the squeeze on cholesterol

• Freshly squeezed or straight out of  the orange juice can improve your cholesterol balance. Participants in a recent study who drank  3  glasses of juice a day for a month increased their  HDL  levels by 21% and lowered the ratio of  bad to good cholesterol (LDL to HDL)  by 16%.

Get your oats

• Porridge is a rich source of soluble fibre, which forms a kind of  gel in your intestine to reduce your body’s absorption of the fat you eat.  Eating a bowl of porridge  a day has a marked cholesterol  lowering effect. Choose quick-cooking or old fashioned oats rather than instant hot oat cereal.

• Other especially good sources of  soluble fibre include prunes, barley, beans, aubergine and asparagus.

Give soya a whirl

• For a delicious cholesterol lowering milk shake, blend 1 cup of vanilla  soya  milk with 2 tablespoons of  ground  flax seeds. Add some fresh or frozen berries and mix it all together in a blender. The soya protein and flax seeds help to lower  LDL cholesterol and raise  HDL cholesterol, while the berries add cholesterol – lowering fibre.

Why not drink wine?

• Alcohol – no matter what kind of drink  – raises levels of   “good HDL cholesterol. “Moderate” means  one  unit a day for women and  two units for men. If you drink more the damage will far out weight any benefits. Red wine offers additional goodies in the form of powerful antioxidants that comes from the pigments in the grape skin.

Get into sporting life

Take a  30  minute walk a day.  Alternatively, you could visit a  gym and climb a stair machine for  30 minutes. Or go swimming or jogging before or after work. Physical activity will decrease your overall risk of heart attack and stroke. And regular exercise also helps to control diabetes and high blood pressure.

Garlic and ginger

• Get your daily dose of garlic – either fresh or garlic tablets.  Garlic contains a compound called allicin, which is thought to be responsible for the bulb’s cholesterol – lowering effect. Four times a day take ginger capsules. The usual dose is 100 to 200mg,   ginger helps to reduce the absorption and increase the excretion of  LDL cholesterol.

Roberto Garcia (Health and Fitness Specialist)
http://www.newhealthandfitnessdvds.co.uk

Specialist provider of Health and Fitness information and products including: DVDs and Supplements.

Tags: arteries, bloodstream, High cholesterol, lipoprotein(LDL), saturated fat

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 22nd, 2010 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Fitness, Medical, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.