How to reduce cholesterol

 Health is Wealth. This is the phrase which you alwaysget to hear from people around, especially from the fitness freaksor those health inspectors. And, there is no doubt with thisfact that without that good health, human is nothing but athing of no use at all which is totally notacceptable, not at all. So, which makes it important that one whileworking to make their life comfortable, also takes care of thethings which can bring that positive change in termsof the health of body. But here comes the badpart, most of people in fact everyone out thereknows about the fact but due to their hecticschedule do not care to take care of their health whichin turn lead them to nothing but that bad life where theycan only be found lying over the bed and fightinghard to get out of it. No doubt, work is important butso is important the well-being. Just think about it, if due to the bad healthyou are not capable of performing any job or activity then how could you expect tohave that happy life out of your job only? You can’t! So, better would be to keepyour health as much priority as your work. There is that long list of factors whichyou can get to read so as to have better results out of your healthwhich includes cholesterol free food, fat free food, eating fruits and vegetables,consuming milk or other strong liquids and lots and lots of things that can helpa person to have best results out of it. Also, people can be seenignoring that healthy food and eating thatjunk item which turns out to be that main reason behind someone’sbad health and which is totally not good. Moreover, having that properwell-being does not only mean that you have to have that good food so asto get best results out of it, but the various otherthings are to be taken care of which will bediscussed later on. What is Cholesterol and howit can affect your health? Among those so many reasonsbehind having bad health conditions, one is to getcholesterol rate higher in body which restricts whole of the systeminside stomach from properly working and thus which lead todifferent kinds of problems. But there are many people whodon’t really know about this and thus eat whatever they get to soas to get their hunger satisfied, these people need to stop here andlearn that not every kind of food is good for you, no matter if it isbeen cooked in home itself or not. Every dish has its ownspecifications among which some of them will match your body needsand some of them will not. Thinking about why totake care of body needs? Well, one thing to say here is that bodyneeds are more important than you, if you are not giving that proper nutritionwhich your body is actually asking for, then you are doing nothing but pushingyourself towards a hell, a deep hell. Obviously without anydoubt, if you don’t fulfill someone’s needs youare expecting a good result from, then theywon’t be giving you any kind of positive resultor effect, not at all. So, it is important thatbefore taking in any kind of food, you firsthave a look towards the specifications aboutwhether it is good for your body or not andthen make a decision. It may be the case that you are notconvinced yet and so making a little more points on how this high cholesterolcan lead your life towards an end and that too without you making any kindof good life for you and your family. Now, let us start this withthe introduction about what is this cholesterolactually all about. In proper terms, Cholesterol isbasically that fat kind of substance made by liver which can be foundin all cells of the body. Moving ahead, there are some people,who mistake this substance as that bad thing which can only be presentin body causing negative effects, but here you people need to know thatthere is nothing like that as it also is present in body to contributetowards our health and well-being. This cholesterol helps your body toconstruct those hormones, vitamin D and substances which can helpyou in the process of digesting. And this thing is generallymade up by your body itself so as to keep bodyin proper working manner, also you can find thischolesterol in some of your food products which manyof the health inspectors restrict from consumingas this will cause excess of fat in bodythat is totally not good. If we get into those deeproots of the thing and talk about how it travelsacross your body, the answer is that thismakes up its way through your blood stream and travelsall across your body. It takes its place in small packageswhich are known by the name of low density lipoproteins (LDL) andhigh density lipoproteins (HDL), among which LDL is consideredas bad one as higher quantity of this can lead to highcholesterol in your arteries while HDL is sometimesconsidered as that good one as this carries allof the cholesterol distributed throughout yourbody back to the liver and liver thus get itvanish off from your body. But this totally doesn’t mean thatbody can work without any one of them, both are equally importantfor one’s body to survive. Now, what is that high bloodcholesterol which is been considered as main topicof concern and discussion. So, talking about this, high bloodcholesterol is that condition in which you get that high cholesterolcollected in your arteries. There is not any kindof specific symptom to know about this, whichbasically means that person won’t be knowingabout the same if they have high cholesterolin their body or not. Moving ahead, what is that badeffect of this thing on one’s body? The person with high cholesterol is morevulnerable to the disease which is known as coronary heart diseaseor coronary artery disease or in simplelanguage a heart disease. In this condition, a plaque kind ofmaterial builds up in arteries of heart (which are working upon takingoxygen throughout your body), which with time keeps hardening and thus causean artery to block by narrowing it that could also lead it to break down and causea blood clot on the surface of plaque. And with time this may also completelyblock the blood flow through the arteries which can lead to a seriousproblem like heart attack or angina. Plaque is made up of a fat,cholesterol, calcium and many other substances thatcan be found in heart. This condition of plaque building up insidean artery is what we call Atherosclerosis. What is Angina? Angina is some kind of discomfortor you can say a chest pain in which one can feel a pressure orsqueeze type feeling in chest, which can also be experiencedin shoulders, jaw, neck or arm. Occurrence of heart attack This can only be caused when arteries arecompletely blocked by the plaque and thus which eventually lead to theblockage of blood flow through the same. It is important for people to getit treated or reduce the use of cholesterol rich food soas to restore the blood flow, or else that only musclebegins to die which will in anyway lead to moreserious conditions or death. And, this is not only about theheart there are also many of those other places where thisplaque can form on arteries and restrict the blood flow through yourbrain or limbs which can bring in action the problems like carotid artery diseaseor stroke or peripheral artery disease. Even kidneys and stones canalso become the part of this which can cause various kindsof problems in digestion. There are also many of the effectswhich can sometimes tell you that your heart is not gettingthat proper amount of blood and so you need to lookupon the same such as jaw pain (if you arefeeling any kind of jaw pain, time to know that there is somethingwrong with your heart and get it checked), numbness in legs, bloodstools (many people suffer with such problem,if you are also the one it is that perfecttime to do something about it), chest painand blockage in brain. Good Cholesterol and Bad Cholesterol You know, heart is thatonly part of body which lets you have a peacefullife if in good condition, but if in any case it gets disturbed inits normal functioning then you know that you are going to face so many problemswhich are going to ruin your life. So, better would be totake that better decision early in life andmanage your eating and drinking so that you have not to face anykind of health problem later in your life. No doubt, your body needs some amountof cholesterol for proper functioning but when it gets in excess it can onlylead to the problem and more problems. There are two types of cholesterolsthat are carried through different kinds of lipoproteins,one is Low density lipoprotein, generally considered as badcholesterol and another one is high density lipoproteinconsidered as good cholesterol. Apart from these two, thereis also one fat which can be found in one’s body and thatis named as triglycerides. Now, what is the role ofthis fat in your body? This is the fat which isfound in blood and been used by one’s body to getmore and more energy. You know that if in any caseyour LDL’s get to increase i.e. your body starts producing badcholesterol in higher quantity then know that your body is morevulnerable to heart disease and if it has that HDL inhigh quantity than it is very much less vulnerable to thedisease related to heart. Well, this new named fat triglycerides workin that same way and if combined with bad cholesterol or goodcholesterol, increases your availability to anykind of heart disease. Now, looking towards those main pointswhat you can get to notice is that if you work upon increasing those highdensity lipoproteins in your body then you will strengthen your body and thus getit saved from any kind of heart disease. The question that arises here isthat what one can do to make this happen or to increase the quantityof these good cholesterol levels. Well, you know that everyproblem has a solution and so is with this thing, andwhen it is about body, you know that you are onlygoing to find a solution in the thing that youconsume daily, your food. You must be thinkingthat food is by now considered for increasingthat bad cholesterol but yes there are alsosome of those which can increase that goodcholesterol in your body and thus make your bodyto save from any kind of heart diseases, knowabout them more here: 1. Olive oil: This is the type ofoil which can help your body get those HDL’s increased and effectof LDL’s reduced at greater rate. Everyone has that habit to use oil in theirfood, as this is the only thing which makes that food taste good, which inturn adds more cholesterol to your body. Now, you have a solution for thattoo, use this oil while you are making any dish or you can alsosprinkle those chopped olives while you are preparing a salad or inany kind of dish to add a flavor to it. But, being useful doesn’t mean that youcan use this anyway, use the same wisely. 2. Legumes and beans: These areamong great sources of fiber which can help your bodyincrease your good cholesterol. One can go for black beans or black eyedpeas, lentils and navy beans and others as they are also that great source whichcan get you more fiber and energy. There is that important B- Vitaminnamed as Folate which can be found in canned beans and cooked dry beans thatcan be useful for heart’s health. You can use them in various dishesand thus make it worth of your body. 3. Whole grains: And with this variouscereals, brown or wild rice can also be that important food which can help you inimproving that count of HDL in your body. Why? They contain all of the fiberwhich is necessary for body and thus make it less vulnerableto any kind of heart disease. One must consume these whole grainsfor atleast two times per day; this is not so muchdifficult as this is not that different fromtaking an oatmeal bowl. Also one can have that bread forlunch which is whole grained and thus best for health of body, fordinner one can have brown rice. So, you are done with thathealthy meal all over the day. 4. Fruits with more fiber:There are many of those fruits which contain that high qualityof fiber such as apples, prunes and peers as they can leadthe level of HDL in your body get boosted up and also lowerthat level of LDL in your body. One can use them by slicing up and afterstirring into different cereals or oatmeal they can be thrown into the blender andthus get the delicious smoothie out of it. 5. Fishes: Omega 3 fatty acid that can befound in fishes is very much useful for increasing the quality of HDL in body andmeanwhile decreasing those bad ones too. There are many of those other optionswhich one can look for the same such as salmon, mackerel, Sardines,rainbow trout and albacore tuna. One should look for thisatleast twice a day and in case you are the one whodon’t or cannot eat fish then you can also ask for the supplementsof fish oil or krill oil as they deliver that same omega 3 acid in 1 pill itselfbut much lesser than the food itself. So, one should go for the one tohave better results out of it. 6. Flax: Now, this is also the one whichin any form whether in seed or oil contain those omega 3 acids which helps the bodyout in getting amount of HDL boosted up. Flaxseeds are mostly used byvegetarians as this helps them to keep their heart healthy and save fromany kind of future problems. Also while buying these,one should remember that they buy only theground flax seeds and the whole seeds pass through the bodywithout breaking up and thus leaving no nutrient behind, basically you won’t behaving any kind of benefit by consuming them. You can use this by sprinkling overoatmeal, morning meals, salads, dips or yogurts or it can also beused by adding them to baked dishes. 7. Different nuts: There are many typesof nuts which are healthy for a body and especially your heartsuch as brazil nuts, almonds, peanuts,pistachios and many others. Along with that they alsocontain that fiber thing and a substance which is alsocalled as Plant sterols. Thinking about what it is all about? Well, this is one of the substancewhich blocks off all the absorption of cholesterol in your body and thusrestricts LDL from increasing anymore. One can go for this like two times aday or can also include them in meals. Is it important to have these? Totally, just remember that ifyou are looking forward to watch over your calories then nuts mustbe at that top of your list. 8. Chia Seeds: This is that another sourceof omega-3 fatty acid and fiber and many other healthy nutrients which make it possiblefor people to keep their heart healthy. These seeds can help peoplein boosting over the level of HDL’s and loweringthose LDLs in body which also decreases offthat blood pressure and thus makes up the body resistantof any kind of heart disease. One can use these seeds by addingthem in oatmeal, cereals, salads or smoothies which is not verymuch different from flax seeds. One can find chia in many of thosegrocery stores as more and more people are using this which madeits availability grow in number. 9. Avocado: This is one of thosehealthiest fruits which contain Folate and fiber in high quantity and thuswork in making heart healthier. This fruit can be of useto people for making their HDLs grow moreand LDLs go down, also it will make body anywayresistant from all types of heart diseases and keep that cholesterollevel in proper control. You can bring them in use by adding theslices in salads or soups or sandwiches, but always be sure to not take that highcalorie or high tortilla chips and go for the low calorie ones such as carrots,tomatoes, radishes and many healthier ones. 10. Soy: The thing which canbe taken as an alternative to meat is not only meant forvegetarians but everyone. Once you include this food in your diet, itwill help you reduce your meat consumption and thus leads into the controlof cholesterol level in body as when people eat less meat, HDLlevel in their body increases and LDL level with same densitydecreases which in turn makes our body resistant fromany kind of heart diseases. Well, with this statement you canalso say that this benefit in the level of cholesterol may be a resultof eating less meat and not soy. But, do remember thatwhen you are looking forward to get controlover your calorie intake, include this in your plan as it will helpyou in reducing the consumption of meat. Now, these foods mentioned above areamong those best option which you can look up for increasing your goodcholesterol and decreasing the bad one, which you can also say acomplete package of good health that will protect your bodyfrom any kind of heart disease. According to various studies, it is foundthat every age has their own cholesterol level which is important to be maintainedin that particular range, such as: Children: As recommended,every child should get their cholesterol checked betweenthe age levels of 9 to 12 and then again between 17 to 21, and this isall because to ignore any kind of problem in future as this makesit easy for people to keep their cholesterollevel in normality. Now, have a look upon totalcholesterol level for children as mentioned bynational institutes of health Total cholesterol in body: Good - 170 mg/dl and lower than that Borderline - Ranges from 170 to 199 mg/dl High - 200 mg/dl and higher LDL: Good - 110 mg/dl or lower than this Borderline - Ranges from 110 to 129 mg/dl High - 130 mg/dl and higher HDL: Good - 45 mg/dl or higher Borderline - Ranges from 40 to 45 mg/dl Low - 40 mg/dl and lower Triglycerides: Good - 75 mg/dl or lower (for ages 0 to 9); 90mg/dl or lower (for ages 10 to 19) Borderline - Ranges from 75 to99 mg/dl (for ages 0 to 9); 90mg/dl to 129 mg/dl (for ages 10 to 19) High - 100 mg/dl andhigher (for ages 0 to 9); 130mg/dl and higher (for ages 10 to 19) Adults: According to various studies itis recommended that every adult after age of 20 must get their cholesterolchecked within every 3 to 5 years. Why? It is because as people age,their cholesterol level tend to increase and so this regular checkupcan make it possible for you to know about your health and in case someonehas their cholesterol level high then they need to get it checked frequentlyto avoid any kind of problem in future. There are different graphs of cholesterollevel in adults too as studied by National heart, lung and bloodinstitute, according to which: Total Cholesterol of body: Good - 200 mg/dl and lower Borderline - Ranges from 200 to 239 mg/dl High - 240 mg/dl and higher LDL: Good - 100 mg/dl and lower Borderline - Ranges from 130 to 159 mg/dl High - 160 mg/dl and higher HDL: Good - 40 mg/dl and higher Low - 39 mg/dl and lower Triglycerides: Good - 149 mg/dl and lower Borderline - Ranges from 150 to 199 mg/dl High - 200 mg/dl and higher So, now you know allthose various levels of cholesterol that you haveto maintain so as to have proper heart health andthus which can make your body resistant of anykind of heart disease. Also in addition to thatyou know those various recipes and foods whichwith adding into your diet you can get that proper health careof your heart done automatically without even avoiding thefood which you like the most. Foods to lower down cholesterol There are various foods whichcan help you in increasing those high density lipo proteinswhich are good for health and same as that they can alsohelp in reducing those low density ones which areconsidered as bad for health, now moving forward there are alsosome of the addiction to those foods which can help in controllingthe cholesterol level of body. That in turn, makes it possible for peopleto make their body resistant from any kind of heart diseases or strokes that can bein future lead to some serious problems. Though, there are many of those foodswhich can only add up in your cholesterol and thus make it put like that bad effecton your heart and body but there are also some of those which can prove tobe good and better for your health. There are many people who aredaily looking up for these solutions so that they canfight with any kind of problem and thus end up doingnothing as obviously it is not easy to stuck up withthe schedule forever. But if done properlythen there is nothing as easier as this and itleads to that better and healthy life at the endand moreover of it includes that food which can be countedamong your favorite ones, well there is nothingmore one can ask for and obviously which leads tothose healthy days of life. Now, let’s have a look towardsthose different kinds of food which can be of helpto many people out there: Oats: Well, this may be not that newto you as this is the food which is considered as that major one when you haveto fight with your fat or cholesterol, in case you don’t know then for thesake of knowledge and well-being, oats is that main meal which you have toinclude in your breakfast and lunch as they can lower that level of lowdiet lipoproteins in your body which can in turn help your bodyfrom any kind of heart disease. It is also found that this foodcan lessen up the level of cholesterol by 5.3% in a periodof only and only 6 weeks. It contains a substanceknown as beta-glucan which absorbs that levelof LDL’s in your body. And also, if you are thinking that they don’thave any taste (obviously, it matters) then you are wrong here, as there are manyof those flavors you can find in market now. So go on and enjoy yourmeal of being healthy. Red wine: Here is that another good andhealthy reason to make people drink. Well, which totally doesn’t mean that oneshould drink more and more, it is just about this wine which makesit possible for people to get their cholesterollevel vanished off. Yes, you heard it right, accordingto various studies the fruit named as Tempranillo red grapeswhich contain high fiber and are used in making red wine alsoknown as Rioja, may be helpful to people in lowering their cholesterol level andthus lead that happy and healthy life. Also, according to the studies carriedout in department of metabolism and nutrition at UniversidadComplutense de Madrid in Spain, it was found that people whoconsumed this supplement made up by red grape andalso found in red wine, they got their LDL level decreasedto 9% and while on the other hand, this in case of people with highcholesterol got a fall down of 12%. So, for now people used to saythat one should not drink, but now it is mandatory here todaythat one should drink red wine, not too much though but at somequantity so as to save your heart from various health problems like heartdiseases and hence save yourself. Salmon fish: Well, this is thepoint that is already been discussed above in increasing therate of good cholesterol level as it contains those omega-3 fatty acidsthat can be of great help in the process and thus make it easy for people tohave that healthy and happy life ahead. Also, according to thestudy by Loma Linda University, if one replacestheir saturated fats with these omega 3 fatsthan they can make their health work in very goodway for themselves. Though there are some people whodon’t eat fish or have that specific problem with one, theycan also look up for fish oil which somehow provides thatsame profit to the body though in very small amount ascompared to that with food. Tea: Now, here comes somethingwhich can be of great interest to many people out there,especially the ones who loves tea. Well, good news is that teaalso plays that great role in controlling over the cholesterollevel on person’s body and thus makes it resistant of anykind of heart disease or strokes. Though, it is also known to manypeople that tea has those unique antioxidants which can help peoplein fighting problems like cancer and now you can use this forincreasing that good cholesterol of yours and obviously decreasethe level of LDL in your body. According to the studyconducted with USDA, it is found that black tea isvery much favorable in this case as it can reducethe level of cholesterol up to 10% and that too innot more than 3 weeks. So, now you know there is one more additionto the list of foods which can help you in controlling that level of fats and thussave your body from various diseases. Nuts: This is also the one which is alreadybeen discussed before and is too much good for the health of people as it helps incontrolling the level of cholesterol in body. Though there are many people who believethat nuts increase bad cholesterol and thus lead to bad health conditions,but there is nothing like that. There are many of those different nuts whichcan help people in improving their health condition or keepingtheir heart healthy so as to protect them fromany kind of problem. According to the study publishedby American journal of clinical nutrition, people who consume 1.5ounces of nuts for 6 days a week or for a month got their total cholesterollowered by 5.4% and LDL lowered by 9.3%. And also one must remember that this positivepoint for nuts not really means that people can eat these as much as they want,it is only good when taken in proper amount. Beans: An another addition toyour food which can help people in keeping their heart healthyand thus resist their body from any kind of heartdisease or serious problems that can prove to bedangerous in coming years. Now, this food of benefits containsthat huge amount of fiber which works as an absorber that takes allof the cholesterol away from body. According to many of the studiesconducted by Arizona state University polytechnic, when one adds halfa cup of beans in their soup they get their total cholesterolalong with LDL lowered by 8% which is very much a good rateto make person follow the same. One can also go for black,kidney or pinto beans as they also help people inkeeping the heart healthy. So, add up the beans to your dietand let your body grow healthy. Chocolate: Oh yes! A chocolate, which can be consideredas that one love for people all over is also one of those which workas a life saver for human beings. Chocolate works as that substance whichcan lead to the increase of HDL, i.e. good cholesterol levels in the body andthat is also proved by various studies. According to the studypublished in AJCN, back in 2007 it is believedthat people who eat cocoa powder got their goodcholesterol boosted up by 24% and that too innot more than 12 weeks.

There are also some of thepeople who think that milk chocolate can do thesame thing to the body, but this is where they get wrongas cocoa in comparison to milk chocolate works 3 times moreeffective as an antioxidant. Also while choosing for thechocolate one should remember to go for the one which isdark and bitter in taste as they are more effective in keepingheart healthy than those sweet ones. So, it is the time to addup a chocolate in your food too as this can prove tobe of great help to you. Eat chocolate and stay healthy. Margarine: This is that anotheraddition to this list of healthy foods which can help people keepingtheir heart healthy and happy. In case someone does not know about this,margarine is something which we can call as another kind of butter butsomewhat different from what butter is. You know butter is made up of animal fatand so contains more saturated fat and on the other hand margarine is the kind ofbutter which is made up of vegetable oil, water and sometimes milktoo which makes it much less saturated than thatof the original butter. And this is the only quality which makes itworth of adding into the meal as it helps people in keeping their heart healthy bylowering the bad cholesterol in body. Also, according to the study published inAJCN, women who intake this unsaturated butter in place of those saturated onesgets their bad cholesterol lowered by 3.5%. Although, to make the fact clearit is also important to be mentioned here that not all of themargarines are made in same way, so whenever one looks up for buying thesame, it’s better to look up for their ingredients and then choose about whetherit is perfect for your heart health or not. Garlic: This is the herb whichhelps people in prevention from various health problems such ascancer, diabetes or heart diseases. According to the study publishedin The Journal of Nutrition it is found that garlic can help peoplein controlling their cholesterol from increasing and thus remove all of thepossibility of any kind of heart disease. This can be used by adding the same to thefood while cooking as it helps in lowering that bad cholesterolof body and make body healthy and resistantof any kind of disease. How it works? It reverses that plaque buildupin your body which you know can block your artery and thuscontrols normal flow of blood. One must add this to their diet so asto have positive benefits out of it. Spinach: Well, you know you don’tneed any explanation in this case, as there are many peoplewhom you have heard saying that how beneficial this food can beto the health of your body and heart and thus how it protects you fromvarious serious health problems. Now, talking about the same,this well-known green food contains lots of lutein i.e. thatsunshine like yellow pigment which can only be found in dark greenvegetables that contain leafs or egg yolk. It is believed that this luteinmaterial also help people in fighting against the problem whichwe name as macular degeneration i.e. in which a persongets blindness as they age and now also it helpsin the health of heart. It is said that one should have atleasthalf a cup of lutein rich food daily so that it can work as a guard inhelping heart from any kind of problem. Olive oil: As we already discussed above,this is also one of those healthy foods which can help people in making bestof the conditions out of their health. One can use them in place of variousvegetable oils and use them while cooking a dish as this is very much less saturatedthan those of other vegetable oils. Thinking about what it contains, whichcan help in making it work better? Well, this oil is filled upwith those mono-saturated fatty acids which arehealthy for heart and thus helps body by loweringthat bad cholesterol in body. Discussed above are someof the foods which can be of help to you in loweringyour bad cholesterol and increasing that goodcholesterol and thus make your body healthy and anykind of disease resistant. Also, in addition to this one canlook up for various other activities that can prove to of great help insame such as good care of your body, exercising, having proper rest, relaxationto body, removing all those stress and tension away from mind and thus livewith that happy and healthy lifestyle.