Wednesday: Pack A Bean Salad For Lunch
If you customarily choose a mayonnaise-heavy tuna salad or meat sandwich for lunch, substitute a bean salad skipping the mayo, and reap heart-health benefits. Beans, also known as legumes or pulses, are so nutritious that they can substitute for fish or meat and they’re a tasty and easy way to lower cholesterol fast. Beans are as filling as meat, too, thanks to their high fiber content. But while meat is digested quickly, beans take longer and may leave you feeling full longer. When it comes to cholesterol-lowering power, beans cant be beat. An analysis of 10 studies published in February 2011 in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases found that people who ate beans lowered their total cholesterol number by 12 milligrams per deciliter , and their LDL cholesterol by 8 mg/dL.
Understanding Your Cholesterol Results
The results of a cholesterol test can be as confusing as they are important. Learn the difference between LDL and HDL, and how to lower your cholesterol. What do my cholesterol results mean?
Thats because lowering heart attack risk is not just a matter of lowering cholesterol. There are many other factors that damage artery walls and increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke, including:
- High glucose levels
- High blood pressure
- Carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke
- Increased tendency towards blood clotting
- High triglycerides
- Remnants of triglycerides, called VLDL and chylomicrons, that flood the blood right after a fatty meal and promote the growth of cholesterol-filled plaques
- Elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels, which are associated with inflammation that weakens and destabilizes plaques, leading to plaque rupture and a heart attack
- Excess weight, especially abdominal weight
- Stress associated with anger and hostility
- A sedentary lifestyle
How long does it take to lower cholesterol with medication? It depends on the dosage. The higher the dosage, the greater the reductions, but higher dosages often bring greater risk of side effects.
- Decreased LDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels, and
- Loss of excess body fat
What Foods Will Make My High Cholesterol Worse
If you have high cholesterol, its most important to eat less saturated fat. Foods that are high in saturated fats are things like fatty and processed meat, pies and pastry, butter, cream, and coconut oil.
Some foods contain dietary cholesterol but surprisingly they dont make a big difference to the cholesterol in your blood. These are foods like eggs, some shellfish like prawns and crab and offal such as liver, liver pate and kidney. They are low in saturated fat and so are fine to eat as part of a healthy diet.
Find out more about cholesterol and eggs
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Consulting With Your Doctor
Treatment For High Cholesterol
Making lifestyle changes, especially changing some of the foods you eat, and regular physical activity, are very important to help reduce high LDL cholesterol.
You may also need to take cholesterol-lowering medicines to help manage your cholesterol and reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Talk to your doctor about finding the most appropriate treatment for you.
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How To Lower Your Cholesterol In One Month
The first thing that people need to do on this thirty-day journey is to read more about lowering LDL cholesterol through the use of therapeutic lifestyle changes.
Once people have a more solid background related to the causes of this condition and what they can do to prevent it, it’s going to be that much easier for them to start working on themselves and take any necessary steps.
Increase Movement In Your Daily Tasks
Every doctors first two advice when addressing lowering cholesterol levels is to improve their diet and exercise more.
Increasing your daily activity and exercising more can lower your LDL cholesterol levels by increasing the rate at which cells break down bad fats and releasing blood sugar into the bloodstream.
If you are looking for a new way to get more exercise, try out some of these options that will make it easier on your joints:
Walking or running in place while watching T.V.
Doing yoga poses during commercials when watching television
Perform wall pushups against our office walls whenever we need a breather from working hard! This also helps with improving posture and strengthening muscles around the chest area.
Walking is one of my favorite ways to lower LDL cholesterol because its an easy activity that can be done all day long! One hour of walking burns about 100 calories which means youre on the right track.
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Adopting Healthier Lifestyle Choices
Use Polyunsaturated Fats Especially Omega
Polyunsaturated fats have multiple double bonds that make them behave differently in the body than saturated fats. Research shows that polyunsaturated fats reduce LDL cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease.
For example, one study replaced saturated fats in 115 adults diets with polyunsaturated fats for 8 weeks. By the end of the study, total and LDL cholesterol levels were reduced by about 10% .
Polyunsaturated fats also may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
Another study changed the diets of 4,220 adults, replacing 5% of their calories from carbohydrates with polyunsaturated fats. Their blood glucose and fasting insulin levels decreased, indicating a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes .
Omega-3 fatty acids are an especially heart-healthy type of polyunsaturated fat. Theyre found in seafood and fish oil supplements. Especially high amounts occur in fatty fish like:
- salmon
- deep sea tuna like bluefin or albacore
- shellfish , including shrimp
Other sources of omega-3s include seeds and tree nuts, but not peanuts.
summary
All polyunsaturated fats are heart-healthy and may reduce the risk of diabetes. Omega-3 fats are a type of polyunsaturated fat with extra heart benefits.
Trans fats are unsaturated fats that have been modified by a process called hydrogenation. This is done to make the unsaturated fats in vegetable oils more stable.
The resulting trans fats are not fully saturated and are called partially hydrogenated oils .
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Biomechanical + Musculoskeletal Evaluation
No pain, no gain? Thats just an old saying! We believe that when you eliminate pain you gain a whole new, happier you!
This comprehensive assessment will analyze you from head to toe. Hows your posture? Your alignment? What about your strength? Do you feel any pain while youre working out? What about as you move through your daily life? Sometimes there are aches and pains that you need more than a massage to fix, and painkillers are a temporary solution that often come with serious side effects. Wishing you could wake up in the morning feeling like your old self? Give this service a try.
Youll not only go home feeling better, but armed with a personalized home fitness routine based on your goals and your schedule!
Frank Musumeci PT, Biomechanical and Musculoskeletal Director at Pritikin, excels in developing highly customized exercise plans for people who have struggled in the past with pain or orthopedic limitations.
Myth: All Cholesterol Is Bad For You
Fact: Some types of cholesterol are essential for good health. Your body needs cholesterol to perform important jobs, such as making hormones and building cells. Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called lipoproteins. Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout the body:
- LDL , sometimes called bad cholesterol, makes up most of your bodys cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke.
- HDL , or good cholesterol, carries cholesterol back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.
When your body has too much LDL cholesterol, it can build up in the walls of your blood vessels. This buildup is called plaque. As your blood vessels build up plaque over time, the insides of the vessels narrow. This narrowing can restrict and eventually block blood flow to and from your heart and other organs. When blood flow to the heart is blocked, it can cause angina or a heart attack.
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Are You Serious About Reducing Cholesterol
If making healthy changes on your own has been a challenge, it may be time to bring in the professionals! Our team of physicians, nutritionists, exercise experts, psychologists, and chefs – specialize in helping people just like you reduce medication and take contol of their health. A vacation at Pritikin will change your life!
Who Should Be Tested
Your GP may recommend that you have your blood cholesterol levels tested if you:
- have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, stroke or mini-stroke , or peripheral arterial disease
- are over the age of 40 people over 40 should have their estimate of CVD risk reviewed regularly
- have a family history of early cardiovascular disease for example, if your father or brother developed heart disease or had a heart attack or stroke before the age of 55, or if your mother or sister had these conditions before the age of 65
- have a close family member who has a cholesterol-related condition, such as familial hypercholesterolaemia
- are overweight or obese
- have high blood pressure or diabetes
- have another medical condition, such as kidney disease, an underactive thyroid, or an inflamed pancreas these conditions can cause increased levels of cholesterol or triglycerides
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Add Plant Stanols Or Sterols
Include 2 grams of plant stanols or sterols per day. This may help lower your LDL cholesterol. Stanols and sterols are found in fortified foods or supplements. To add these in your diet you can:
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Add foods fortified with stanols and sterols. Ask your dietitian for more information.
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Include daily supplements such as CardioSterols or Cholestoff capsules and Benecol chews.
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Let South Denver Cardiology Associates Help
If you are trying to improve your health by cutting down on your cholesterol, South Denver Cardiology Associates offers many programs that might be useful. This includes our gym and various exercise classes.
We can also help you assess the seriousness of your heart problems with extensive diagnostic testing options. For example, we offer a heart scan that looks at the calcification of your heart arteries. This can help you understand your heart risks in the near term.
To learn more about the benefits of working with South Denver Cardiology, please call 303-744-1065 or use our online form to schedule an appointment today.
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Lowering Cholesterol With Diet And Exercise
Exactly how exercise works in improving your cholesterol levels is still not totally clear. Although there have been studies examining the effects of exercise on cholesterol, these studies have also been coupled with other cholesterol-lowering lifestyle changes, such as following a healthy diet or losing weight.
Recent studies examining the effect of exercise alone reveal a few ways that exercise may help improve your cholesterol levels:
- Lipoprotein particle size. Some studies have shown that exercise can change your LDL . Smaller lipoproteins, such as small, dense LDL, have been associated with contributing to cardiovascular disease but having larger LDL particles do not carry this same risk. Studies have shown that moderate exercise can increase the size of your LDL particles, which can help to reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In one study, a 12-week endurance exercise program reduced small, dense LDL by up to 17%.
- Reverse cholesterol transport. A few studies in mice have suggested that exercise can enhance the transport of cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver, where it will eventually be filtered out of the body.
- Absorption. A few studies have shown that eight to 12 weeks of endurance exercise may slightly reduce the absorption of cholesterol from the small intestine into the bloodstream. The amount of cholesterol made by the liver does not appear to be affected by exercise.
Healthy Meal Plan For Weight Loss
This 5-day sample meal plan for weight loss is all about eating more, not less.
You learn about lots of healthy, filling meals and snacks that can help you not only weigh less but also feel your very best.
This healthy meal plan for weight loss includes all kinds of satisfying, hunger-curbing foods like Salmon with Sweet Chili Sauce, sweet potatoes, and hearty Italian-style soups.
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Pritikin Structured Exercise Program
Pritikin isn’t a place where you laze by the pool all day. We give you structure so you can establish habits. Youll work out with a group of your peers who have similar physical abilities to yours. Do you like a fast paced workout? No problem. Weve got the right class for you.
Upon arrival youll take advantage of an exercise tolerance test as well as a fitness assessment. These evaluations will assist us in determining both your target heart rate and the right group for you. Our core group fitness classes are color coded, so its easy to get into the habit and follow along each day. Youll be with the same group of guests during all your core exercise classes, so its fun to make friends and cheer each other on! Looking for a little more independence? We have plenty of optional classes during the day that you may attend at your leisure.
Start A Healthy Plan And Make A Delicious Recipe
One of the best ways to reduce or prevent high cholesterol is to cut back on the foods that cause it. Those include trans fats, often listed as partially hydrogenated oil on cookie and cracker packages, and saturated fats, found mostly in meat, cheese and butter. To replace those foods, eat more high-fiber plant foods and heart-healthy fats the foods known to lower cholesterol. We list seven of these superfoods below. If overhauling your entire diet sounds too hard, try making just one change per week to make healthy changes that stick.
Week 1: Opt for oats for breakfastOats just might be the perfect way to start your day. They energize you, keep you regular and have more soluble fiber the kind that kicks out bad LDL cholesterol than any other grain. You dont even have to cook them see below for the easiest recipe ever. Other good grain choices are oat bran, barley and whole grains in general.
Week 2: Add an apple a dayApples are high in pectin, another type of soluble fiber that lowers LDL cholesterol. Strawberries, blueberries, grapes and oranges also pack loads of pectin and other nutrients that give them their vibrant colors, so load up.
Week 4: Have a handful of nutsSnacking on a small handful of walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts or pistachios every day can lower bad cholesterol by about 5 percent, studies show. The unsaturated fats in nuts are good for your heart too, unlike the saturated or trans fats in salami, cheese and many crackers.
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What Are The Negative Effects On The Body From High Ldl Cholesterol Levels
There are many illnesses and health concerns that stem from having high total cholesterol levels.
Some health conditions that can be triggered by high cholesterol include:
- Atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries and vascular dementia, which can lower brain function.
- Increased risk of heart disease and strokes from plaque buildup on artery walls.
- Angina chest pain that is a result of atherosclerosis restricting blood flow to the heart muscle.
- Peripheral Vascular Disease
And that is to name a few.