You have just received the results from your latest annual exam and blood workup, only to find your cholesterol levels have unexpected skyrocketed into dangerously high levels (around 295 mg/dl). Could it be those extra pounds I have put on or perhaps my new love for those beefy fast food burgers? You decide to measure your waistline, only to find the unbelievable number of 45 inches across at the hips. You reflect back to your high school days when you had that lean 30 inch waistline, and then you quickly come back to reality. You then remember reading an article about being overweight and the health risks, including high cholesterol. You seem to recall reading something about abdominal obesity being particularly dangerous because it leads to resistance to the actions of insulin, which in turn elevates blood levels of insulin, and is associated with high triglycerides and low HDL (good cholesterol) readings. That's right! A waist circumference of greater than 40 inches in men or 35 inches in women indicates abdominal obesity and a heightened risk of high cholesterol and coronary artery disease. Oh my, what to do now.
What you will find is that by reducing cholesterol levels through making changes in the types of food you consume not only will lower your cholesterol levels but your waistline just might start shrinking as well. You may not make it back to those lean glory years of yesteryear, nevertheless any improvement would be welcomed.
The biggest culprit in both areas is that of saturated fat. Saturated fat from both animal and plant products is a major factor in raising blood cholesterol levels. As a general rule, animal products contain more saturated fat than plant products. Some of the worst offenders are organ meats, poultry skin, ground fatty meats, butter, coconut, coconut oil, palm oil, sausage, butter, and whole milk products such as ice cream and whipping cream. The link between cholesterol and saturated fat is undeniable, and limiting saturated fat consumption to 10 percent of total calories will be an important first step in both melting off those pounds and reducing cholesterol.
How do I do that? Very simple, become an expert at label reading. Under the new guidelines passed by the FDA all foods must have a nutritional listing including that of saturated fat. For example the canned lunchmeat Spam is 30 percent saturated fat. If you are trying to find a way of reducing cholesterol levels chances are that fried spam (30%), cooked in palm oil (52%),and placed between two pieces of white bread with cheddar cheese (27%) and mayo should be avoided.
Helpful list of substitutions for reducing cholesterol: Substitute skinless white meat poultry or fish for marbled red meat; substitute vegetables and salads for fried foods; substitute low fat or nonfat dairy with stanols and sterols, for high fat dairy products; and lastly substitute soy based products for hamburgers, hot dogs, and organ meats.
In summary, reducing cholesterol is all about replacing old unhealthy eating habits with new healthier options. Additionally, many natural health minded individual have been able to improve their overall results by adding lowered-cholesterol.com natural cholesterol reducing remedies to their diet modification program. This powerful one two combination is a side effect free way to achieve your goal of reducing cholesterol both safely an naturally, and perhaps drop a few pounds along the way.
Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of safe and effective high quality alternative health products and natural living, with over 10 years experience in the field. Learn more about natural remedies and natural health at purchaseremedies.com Purchase Remedies.com
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