What's the nation's No. 1 killer of men and women? Heart disease. It causes a single death every 35 seconds. Here we share with you 10 tips to reduce the cholesterol naturally to fight back against heart disease.
Cholesterol and Heart Disease
In your annual physical, the doctor pokes and prods you and send you off for a blood test to check your cholesterol levels. But what is cholesterol? And what do the those magic numbers say about your health? Cholesterol is a type of lipid or fat. In our bodies, it travels through our blood stream in particles called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are bad because they can lead to a buildup of plaque in arteries. An accumulated mass of plaque can narrow your arteries and constrain blood flow - much like trying to sip a smoothie through a clogged straw. Eventually, the plaque breaks explodes and a blood clot forms, cutting off the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Hello, welcome heart attack and stroke! High-density lipoproteins (HDL), on the other hand, are beneficial because they snag the LDL congesting your arteries and take it to the liver, where it's processed and eventually flushed and excreted.
A total blood cholesterol level of 200 and above is cause for concern, according to the American Heart Association. So lowering your cholesterol reduces your risk of contracting heart disease and dying from a heart attack according to many experts.
What you consume can affect the amounts of HDL and LDL flowing through your bloodstream, and we have a cholesterol-lowering eating plan that's tasty and effective. Here's our list: Try these 8 super-foods. Aim to eat all eight day after day and pay attention to the two bonus tips.
1. Almond Joy (not the candy bar though) - one ounce of dry-roasted, unsalted almonds Almonds contain two powerful antioxidants - vitamin E and flavonoids - which prevent the oxidation of LDL, a precursor to plaque buildup. Eat almonds with their skins, which pack a hefty dose of flavonoids. Maybe stir a handful into yogurt or spread two tablespoons of almond butter on whole-wheat bread. No Almond flavored syrup in your morning coffee does not count.
2. Oatmeal - 3 grams of beta-glucan, found in a half cup of dry oatmeal or oat bran Oats are rich in beta-glucan, a soluble fiber that acts like a sponge to soak up cholesterol. Try this if your not a big oatmeal fan: Add cinnamon or dried cranberries/blueberries to your morning oatmeal for a flavor boost. Oat-bran is a highly concentrated source of beta-glucan and it's easy to mix into homemade bread, muffin and pancake batter. Don't forget about Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
3. Garlic - One clove and one Kyolic One Per Day Cardiovascular aged garlic extract supplement Garlic impedes the liver's ability to make cholesterol. Here's a couple ways to spice up your garlic. Chop garlic into small pieces to release its flavor. Saut? it with steamed spinach, add it to sauces and soups or pur?e roasted garlic with cooked potatoes and olive oil for a heart-healthy version of everybody's favorite: Mashed potatoes.
4. Phytosterol-Containing Foods - 2-3 grams of phytosterols a day spread over two meals Phytosterols are a fat found in plant foods such as fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. They interfere with cholesterol absorption by blocking it from your intestinal cells. Even a vegetarian diet provides no more than 300-400 mg of plant sterols a day, so supplement this with foods containing added phytosterols - chocolate bars, margarine, cheese, granola bars and cookies, to name a few - but keep an eye on saturated fat and trans-fat content. Check out this Cranberry-Almond Granola. See and you thought cutting down cholesterol would require you to eat foods that taste like carboard.
5. Flaxseeds - 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds Flaxseeds contain lignan and soluble fiber, which block the production of LDL and increase your body's ability to get rid of cholesterol. Eat ground flaxseeds rather than whole ones, because your body can better absorb its nutrients. We like to sprinkle them into our morning oatmeal or cereal. Recent studies also show that whole flaxseeds are better than flaxseed oil for lowering cholesterol. Use whole flaxseed in Blueberry-Nut Muffins for a yummy combo.
6. Beans - 1/2 cup of legumes (beans, peas or lentils) Beans contain a special soluble fiber that's fermented in the colon. Healthy bacteria eat the fiber and bean sugars to form short-chain fatty acids, which travel to the liver and inhibit LDL cutmostrol production. Sure you likely never heard of Adzuki beans, which are used in Japan to make sweet red bean paste, but if you can track them down they are high on our recommendations list. Also recommends cannelloni beans (try them in Tuscan soups, an Italian bean-based soup) and kidney beans, perfect in one of our favorites Hawaiian chili. Or Porteguese Bean Soup.
7. Apples - One apple - to keep the doctor away, of course Apples, particularly the skin and outer flesh, are rich in polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that help prevent plaque buildup. You can chop, slice or dice 'em, but leave the peel on for maximum health benefits.
8. Soy Protein - 20-25 grams Soy protein contains phytoestrogens - compounds that increase the number and effectiveness of LDL cholesterol receptors, improving the liver's capability to get rid of cholesterol in your bloodstream. Here's a couple of our favorites since we are in the coffee and smoothie business: Order a soy latte at your favorite coffeehouse, throw tofu into a fruit smoothie, use soy flour when baking, or mix a handful of roasted soy nuts with dried fruit for an energy-boosting trail mix.
A healthy diet isn't your only defense against cholesterol. Every one of our recommendations helps to lower cholesterol in a specific way, so by combining them all, you get an extremely powerful LDL-lowering approach.
9. Take Metamucil or Fiber Caplets (Psyllium Husk) - Work up to 12 capsules a day, for a total of 6 grams of psyllium husk Metamucil or Fiber caplets contain psyllium husk, a fiber that prevents cholesterol from entering intestinal cells. This fiber soaks up cholesterol so you excrete it rather than absorb it into your body. It's probably the most powerful LDL-lowering viscous soluble fiber in existence. Food in the U.S. Is abundant, but we are Fiber starved. Adults should consume 10-25 grams of soluble fiber a day, advises the National Cholesterol Education Program, but most get only 3-4 grams. A good measure is to try to get get roughly half your fiber from a supplement and the rest from fiber rich foods. If you are taking a fiber supplement it's best to take half with breakfast and half with dinner to avoid overloading your body on fiber, which can cause gas, constipation or diarrhea.
Here our one an only non-food/supplement related cholesterol reducing strategy:
10. Work Up a Sweat - 30 minutes of exercise the more the better Cardiovascular exercise speeds blood flow in your arteries, reducing your chances of inflammation and clogging (two precursors to hardening of your arteries). You don't have to belong to a gym to get some exercise. Clip on a pedometer while you run errands and aim for 10,000-12,000 steps a day. Walk the dog around the neighborhood rather than around the corner. If it doesn't reduce your cholesterol it will help you control your weight and give you more energy.
Start incorporating these practices and tips into your lifestyle today, and your cholesterol will be on the down slope in no time. Results and response to these tips will vary and will be dramatically affected by heredity, but implementing these 10 ways to naturally reduce your cholesterol should do the trick for most of you out there.
Kapo Trading Company - Your Hawaiian Products Company
- Hawaiian Food Recipes
kapotrading.com/Hawaiian_Recipes.html kapotrading.com/Hawaiian_Recipes.html
No comments:
Post a Comment