Cholesterol is a naturally occurring sterol in the body that is created in the liver. It provides a number of vital functions within the body, such as creating vitamin D when the skin is in contact with direct sunlight. Cholesterol becomes a problem when too much of it is in the body. It can be added to the body by eating animal products, fatty and oily food. High cholesterol can lead to complications like heart disease and thickening of the arteries. The key to keep your cholesterol low is to eat the right foods. This article will discuss what the right foods are and how reading the labels on food packets, especially the fat content, can help to lower cholesterol.
Most processed foods or foods that have some sort of packaging will have a nutritional label on the back. The label generally breaks the contents of the food into proteins, carbohydrates and fats. For someone trying to reduce cholesterol it is important to consider the fat content.
Mono-unsaturated fats are seen to be 'good fats'. They include things like olive oil, peanut oil and canola oil. They are pure vegetable oil.
Polyunsaturated fats are acceptable and include oils from corn and some nuts
It is acceptable for some with high cholesterol to eat a food product that has these types of fats in it provided it is part of a balanced diet. The other type of fats that should be avoided are saturated fats.
A simple definition of a saturated fat is a product that would be solid at room temperature. One type of saturated fat that has received much attention recently is trans fats.
Trans fats were developed in the 1940's by injecting hydrogen into vegetable oil. It was found that foods made with this type of fat tasted better and that the fat acted as a preservative. This was ideal for the food industry and many food products were created using trans fats.
As more research was done into nutrition and cardiovascular diseases, it was found that trans fats were bad for the body.
Trans fats are responsible for increasing cholesterol levels, especially the LDL or low density lipoproteins. High levels of LDL will cause excessive plaque buildup in the arteries which will result in decreased blood flow to the heart. Trans fat also decreases the amount of HDL or high density proteins, which are responsible for taking excess cholesterol back to liver to be processed as a waste product.
As of January 2006, the FDA requires all food manufacturers to have the amount of trans fat listed on their nutrition labels. It is recommended that you stay away from trans fat altogether. The American Heart Association recommends limiting trans fat consumption to 1% of your total calories per day. In response to this many food manufacturers are taking the trans fat out of their products to promote a healthier lifestyle or to promote their food as healthy.
Another point about trans fats is that it is sometimes called hydrogenated oil. If a product does not have the trans fats listed then look for this type of oil. Avoid food with hydrogenated oil in it.
Eating a happinesslifetime.com low cholesterol diet means trying to get fresh foods into your diet however it is hard to avoid processed foods these days. You may want to treat yourself once in a while to some of your favorite biscuits. Check the labels first. Look for products that have no trans fat or low levels.
High cholesterol is usually treated by making changes in your lifestyle. Find out what a typical lowcholesteroldieting.com/Cholesterol_Diet.html cholesterol diet consists of by visiting lowcholesteroldieting.com lowcholesteroldieting.com Adrian Whittle writes on issues related to reducing cholesterol and how to monitor cholesterol levels.
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