There is no mistaking the role high cholesterol plays when it comes to developing heart disease, stroke or a heart attack. It is a primary risk factor, which makes learning how to lower your high cholesterol through diet using foods such as fish of prime importance.
Before going through the benefits to be gained from using fish in your diet, let's take a moment to fully understand why high cholesterol is dangerous.
Cholesterol has a vital role to play in the body. To be honest, we could not survive without it. Cholesterol is necessary for maintaining cell membranes, producing hormones and Vitamin D, and aiding digestion.
The two types of cholesterol most frequently mentioned are LDL and HDL. LDL cholesterol must be kept low while HDL needs to be kept high.
When LDL cholesterol levels exceed optimum levels, plaque will form in the walls and linings of the arteries. While LDL levels remain high, more and more plaque accumulates which increases the risk of blockages occurring in the key arteries that provide oxygenated blood to the heart, brain and other major organs.
HDL cholesterol works by removing excess amounts of LDL from your bloodstream, thus slowing down the development of plaque, and ultimately the progression of clots and blockages.
Given what you eat affects your cholesterol levels, knowing how to lower your high cholesterol through diet is critical to keep you safe and prevent a heart attack or worse.
So why fish?
There are certain types of fish, called "fatty fish" that will help lower cholesterol. This is because they contain Omega 3 fatty acids, which is a good fat, which can lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while raising HDL.
Omega 3 will help to slow down the accumulation of plaque in the arteries and it is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent.
When you lower your high cholesterol through diet foods like fatty fish, you need to choose from cold water fish such as salmon and tuna. Cold water fish that come directly from the ocean will have less pollutants than fish that are caught in a lake.
When you are looking to lower your high cholesterol through diet using fish, remember that not all fish are the same. For example, crawfish, shrimp and other types of shellfish are higher in cholesterol than say, mackerel, sardines and herring. However, they are low in saturated fat, which still makes them a better choice than choosing most types of meat or even lean poultry.
Lobster and orange roughy contain the lowest amount of saturated fat but are high in cholesterol while halibut, yellowfin tuna, albacore tuna, grouper and snapper are lowest in cholesterol.
When you are choosing your fish, make sure it looks fresh, moist and bright. It should have clear eyes, spongy skin and shiny scales. Check that it is kept cold.
When it comes to cooking your fish, trim off any visible fat. The best choices for cooking fish to lower cholesterol is by baking, grilling, broiling or poaching it as this will release a lot of the fat. Using a rack will allow the saturated fat to be removed easier.
Avoid breading or frying your fish. If you use a pan, then use vegetable oil to stop the fish from sticking to the pan.
Did you know that eating only 4 ounces of salmon alone will provide you with more than 80% of the Omega 3 you need each day?
Now fish is not to everyone's taste, and if you are one of those people, then don't lose out on the health benefits of Omega 3. Choose a high quality fish oil supplement to complement your diet and provide your heart and other key organs with invaluable nutrition.
If you choose to lower your high cholesterol through diet using fish, then make sure you select from the aforementioned fish as these have the highest quantities of Omega 3.
If you are ready to strengthen how to curing-cholesterol.com lower your high cholesterol through diet with invaluable nutrients that can help protect you against having a heart attack, stroke or heart disease, then visit my website today for FREE quality information to guide you to success.
Mary Ruddy is a former high cholesterol sufferer, from a family with a history of heart disease, and has successfully achieved perfect cholesterol levels, reversing and eliminating the risk of heart disease, and is a strong advocate of natural health care. Mary enjoys introducing people to the best natural products she can find and uses herself daily at: curing-cholesterol.com curing-cholesterol.com
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