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Cholesterol has a bad press to be certain, but this is because the press does not usually give the full story. It is easier and more frightening to leave a couple of bits out. The fact is that we have to have cholesterol and triglycerides for that matter in order to live normally. The point where these fats become a problem is when we have too high a percentage of them in our blood.

This is a comparable situation to having a lot of sugar in the blood on a regular basis, which is otherwise called diabetes. A different word for this is hyperglycaemia and hyperglycaemia can be a cause of having too many triglycerides in the blood as well, which by the way is known as hypertriglyceridemia. ‘Hyper’ meaning ‘too much’.

Cholesterol and triglycerides are the two foremost fats in our blood system. Cholesterol and triglycerides come from the foodstuffs that we consume, but our own bodies make them too. Cholesterol is crucial for several fundamental bodily functions like regulating hormones and making bile.

Having said that, there are two kinds of cholesterol: low and high density cholesterol. The low end can go very low and the lower it goes the worse it is for you. This is a very complicated topic which is better explained in a longer article, but all you have to bear in mind is that low density or LDL is bad and high density cholesterol is ‘better’.

This is a very simplistic description, but it is the one that we are told of in the popular press. HDL cholesterol is believed to help mop up LDL cholesterol, which is why it is called good.

If this natural process does not take place or goes out of balance, the LDL cholesterol waxy fat will stick to the walls of arteries making them thinner, narrower. This is known as atherosclerosis (furring of the arteries) and means that the heart has to pump blood harder in order to get oxygen to each part of the body.

This is called hypertension or high blood pressure and puts the heart at risk of stress and failure – coronary heart disease and stroke are the possible consequences of furred arteries.

There is a lot that you can do to amend any concerns with your cholesterol levels. Most of our cholesterol comes from eating red meat and full-fat dairy products, so just by replacing every other steak with a salad could hugely reduce your problem. There are other ways of doing this too, like exercise.

Exercise is a useful way of burning up the surplus fats in your blood stream, but it has to be carried out on a regular basis. Not that it takes a lot. If you think of what you eat and reduce the foodstuffs weighty in cholesterol, you might merely need 30 minutes moderate exercise a day in order to get healthy.

The fact is that if you do not do something about your state of affairs, you will be placed on tablets for the rest of your life. You might think that this is a good alternative to diet and exercise, but it is not actually. It is just the easy option.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with the question: what is a triglyceride?. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at What Foods Lower Cholesterol?

Most people think that cholesterol issues only have an effect on older people, but this is not the case. High degrees of cholesterol can also be found in the young. In one study, 75 % of those checked had a yellow waxy substance in their blood – LDL cholesterol – it is considered to be a reliable indication of future heart problems. The astonishing thing concerning this study was that they were all fit American soldiers with an average age of just 21.

Now we do require some LDL cholesterol because it is used by the body to control some vital functions and we definitely need HDL cholesterol because it assists regulate LDL cholesterol. The only problem is the quantity of these substances. High levels of LDL have been linked to atherosclerosis, which leads to heart disease.

If you would like to begin working on your cholesterol levels in a maintenance type of way, you can do so with the aid of exercise and diet. The exercise element does not have to be arduous. Walking for an hour a day will do the trick if it is in conjunction with healthy dieting.

The diet ought to include plenty of fibre and roughage because not only will it lower LDL cholesterol, but it will also help your bowels to function properly which reduces your chance of acquiring bowel cancer, the rate of which is rising these days.

Foods that are rich in fibre and roughage are fruit and vegetables, especially greens; beans, pulses and grains, particularly oats as in porridge; nuts and soya. It is fairly simple to increase your intake of these foodstuffs without drastically altering you main diet, although it is wise to substitute skinless chicken and fish for beef and pork.

For example, you could eat porridge for breakfast and add a handful of barley to your soup. You could add a few leaves of lettuce to your sandwich and eat fruit as snacks throughout the day. You could have beans on toast every now and again. Whole grain bread, obviously.

Some foodstuffs have a particularly healthy reputation for reducing cholesterol levels. Avocado is one because it contains a lot of mono-unsaturated fats which raise the level of HDL and HDL counteracts LDL. Raw carrots are another one. Raw carrots contain lots of pectin, which reduces LDL. Pectin is also there in large quantities in citrus fruits, apples and berries such as strawberries, raspberries and red and black berries.

Then there are other famously healthy foodstuffs like garlic and shitake mushrooms which are also considered to ward off cancer and boost the immune system as a whole. Ginger is another healthy food that is easily incorporated into dishes.

Nuts, particularly walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and almonds are high in Omega 3 fatty acids which has a beneficial impact on LDL cholesterol. Sesame seeds contain phytosterols, which also lowers LDL. Other foodstuffs containing phytosterols are: celery, lettuce, asparagus, spinach and tomatoes.

You ought to strive to eat mono- and poly-unsaturated fats as they will improve your HDL. You can find these fats in cannola, safflower, soya bean and olive oil. They also contain Omega 3. Other sources of Omega 3 are fish, especially the fatty fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on numerous topics, but is now concerned with food that lowers cholesterol. If you want to know more, please visit our site at What Foods Lower Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is something that lots of individuals fear, but most people do not understand. Individuals are scared of having ‘cholesterol’, but they do not understand that there are two sorts of cholesterol and that they have to have some of each sorts.

The difficulty comes if you have more cholesterol than you require. This is because cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance that can stick to the walls of arteries, build up and result in obstruction.

This means that the heart has to pump harder to get enough oxygen and nutrients to where they are required. This in turn means that a rise in blood pressure, which frequently leads to heart disease, which in turn leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Luckily, there are three methods out of this difficulty: diet, exercise and medication. The medication would have to be taken daily and for life, so most people would rather strive to reduce their levels of cholesterol without taking drugs. However, this does mean lifestyle changes.

A lot of individuals have tried dieting to lose weight and failed. Dieting to reduce cholesterol is not quite the same, but there are similarities and a weight loss diet could be linked with a low cholesterol diet fairly easily.

However, there is another way and that is exercise. You can either exercise a lot and eat more or less what you want or exercise a bit and be cautious with what you eat as well. If you make a decision to exercise a great deal, the way that it will work for you is by raising your rate of metabolism and strengthening your heart.

Before embarking on an exercise routine, you should talk to your physician, particularly if you have not carried out much exercise for a long time. Your physician will almost certainly advise you to do mild types of exercise such as rambling for an hour a day (two times thirty minutes) until you are within a stone or so of your target weight. Swimming in a swimming pool is another good alternative.

Exercise can have a pretty rapid effect on your cholesterol levels. In fact, it will have a faster impact than dieting, but the best way to go is to eat less HDL (saturated fats, trans fats and hydrogenated fats) and exercise as well.

While you are exercising a lot more, bear in mind to hydrate your body by drinking plenty of water. Water, not soda or caffeinated drinks or beer. Just water and at least two litres a day, which is roughly eight tumblers full.

You can also imbibe water by eating watery fruits like watermelons and other fruits, which would kill two birds with one stone as eating fruit is seen as a way of warding off cancer.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on numerous subjects, but is now concerned with food that lowers cholesterol. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at What Foods Lower Cholesterol?