Diet to Lower Cholesterol - How to Lower Cholesterol and Enhance Your Health

When you're planning a happinesslifetime.com diet to lower cholesterol, there are a few important points to keeps in mind. Firstly, you need to understand that cholesterol is vital for human existence.

Our bodies use cholesterol to:

Manufacture new cell membranes;
Produce important hormones like testosterone, estrogen and adrenaline;
Produce vitamin D;
Produce bile acids which help the body to digest fats and take in various nutrients;

In fact, cholesterol is so important for our bodies that one of the liver's primary functions is to manufacture it on a continual basis. The liver makes about 1 gram of cholesterol every 24 hours - and that is all that our bodies need. The excess cholesterol that we get from the foods we eat must be metabolized and gotten rid of through the excretory process.

Cholesterol is a fatty, waxy substance and as such is not soluble in blood. Lipoproteins are used to transport the cholesterol throughout the body so that it can be utilized. There are 2 types of lipoproteins that have to do with cholesterol: LDLs and HDLs.

LDLs are low density lipoproteins and are considered the bad guys because they are the ones that build up on the inside of our arteries and cause blood flow blockages.
HDLs are high density lipoproteins are considered to be the good guys because they help to flush the LDLs from our arterial walls and back to liver for metabolism and then excretion.

Given that the liver makes all the cholesterol that the body needs, the cholesterol from our foods is actually a liability. High levels of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream over time will result in the buildup of a sticky plaque that makes it difficult for blood to pass through. This is known as atherosclerosis and creates the following:

Extra work for the heart to push blood through these narrower passages;
Loss of elasticity and weakness in the arteries;
Decreased nutrient and oxygen delivery via the blood to various body parts and systems;
Increased probability for the development of heart disease, myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), kidney failure and strokes to name a few.

How to lower cholesterol:

The most effective ways to lower cholesterol in your body is to:

Initiate a diet for lowering cholesterol;
Work out for about 25 minutes or more every day;
Flush your body daily with clean water;
Do not smoke;
Maintain a healthy weight;
Manage your stress effectively;
Have a positive attitude about your life and happiness;

Your cholesterol lowering diet should consist of water-rich, low cholesterol foods like:

Vegetables;
Beans and other legumes;
Fruits;
Whole grain foods like breads and pastas;
Non-fat dairy products;
Some types of fish

Your happinesslifetime.com diet to lower cholesterol should not include:

Saturated fats;
Trans fats;
Fatty red meats;
Duck and goose;
Other types of poultry;
Cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, butter or any other dairy products that are not non-fat or low-fat;
Shellfish;
Excessive alcohol;

Allow your happinesslifetime.com diet to lower cholesterol to be enhanced by daily work outs. They need to be just slightly challenging - not Olympian-grade. Making positive lifestyle changes is the best and fastest way to lower your cholesterol levels. Enjoy your new healthy lifestyle!

Steven R Arnold is editor of fatsense.com fatsense.com

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