Top Cholesterol Fighting Foods: Part 3

Today we continue to discover some more no-guilt foods we can enjoy to lower our bad cholesterol, and increase the good HDL Cholesterol. This prevents heart attacks and stroke, and ensures good health. Spinach Similar to garlic, the lutein found in spinach prevents cholesterol from attaching to your artery walls. In turn this prevents plaque formation which is the cause of arterial blockage and as a result heart attack and stroke. Just ½ cup of lutein rich foods every day can be enough to receive the benefits and help protect you against arterial plaque buildup. Baby spinach leaves can also … Continue reading →

Top Cholesterol Fighting Foods: Part 2

Bad cholesterol is caused by saturated and trans fats in our diet. On the bright side, we can effectively lower our cholesterol just by eating the right foods! Unsaturated fats will help you combat bad cholesterol, and increase good cholesterol to lower your chances of a heart attack or stroke. Garlic Garlic lowers cholesterol and prevents blood clots. It reduced blood pressure and also protects you against infections. New studies have found that aside from all these benefits garlic also combats early stage plaque (the artery clogging material that can cause heart attacks or stroke). Garlic manages to do this … Continue reading →

Cholesterol Fighting Foods: Part 1

There are essentially two types of cholesterol: good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. The good version actually helps combat bad cholesterol, which then prevents plaque formation in your arteries. Bad cholesterol, called Low Density Lipo Protein (LDL) is caused by saturated fats (for example butter), while good cholesterol is tied to unsaturated fats (like olive oil). Your liver uses saturated fats to make cholesterol. Sources of these bad fats you should avoid or limit are whole milk, cream, butter, cheese, meats (beef, lamb, pork) and palm kernel oil, coconut oil and vegetable shortening. Certain foods are known to decrease bad cholesterol, … Continue reading →

Healthy Blood Vessels: Eat More Chocolate!

Ladies, this is the best excuse you will get for your chocolate fix: new studies show it can actually help fix aging blood vessels! Photography by Tony Roberts Older individuals benefit the most from it, so next mother’s day give mom that chocolate box. The inner lining of the vessels is called the endothelium. This is the part of the blood vessel that deteriorates with age. Consuming flavonol rich cocoa can actually improve the function of blood vessels in the elderly, who are otherwise healthy. This also includes vessels in the heart! Flavonols are actually a type of antioxidant, and … Continue reading →

Causes of High Cholesterol

We all have the option of doing certain things to live a long, healthy life. One involves maintaining good cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, even young, thin; physically fit people can have high levels of cholesterol, although chances of higher levels increase due to certain factors. Lifestyle management is the key to changing some of these factors while others require a more aggressive approach to include cholesterol-lowering medication. Weight American’s now weigh more than the past ten years combined. Because of busy work and play scheduled, people often grab fast food or junk food while rushing out the door. Unfortunately, poor eating … Continue reading →

Symptoms of Cholesterol

Symptoms directly associated with cholesterol are rare. Instead, high cholesterol levels are generally identified from a blood test. Most often, symptoms are from the result of high cholesterol, which would include things such as coronary disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Let us break each of these down to look at the symptoms in depth. Coronary Disease The primary symptom associated with coronary heart disease is called Angina. For this, a person would generally experience a sensation in the chest often described as “pressure”, “squeezing”, or “someone sitting on the chest”. These symptoms can spread to the jaw, neck, or … Continue reading →

Understanding Cholesterol

Before looking at how cholesterol can be lowered, it is important to understand what it is. Cholesterol is actually produced by the liver and is a fat-like waxy substance. When the body has too much cholesterol, it is harmful. However, cholesterol can help your overall health and body function. You see, every cell within the body is formed to varying degrees from cholesterol. When cholesterol levels become elevated, it can be dangerous but when maintained at appropriate levels, cholesterol plays a vital role in many body functions. Cholesterol works to build and repair cells. In addition, cholesterol produces hormones to … Continue reading →