Which Fish To Choose
People can choose leaner fish such as bass or cod, or fatty fish high in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, mackerel, and herring.
Another consideration when choosing which fish to eat is mercury levels, as these may be higher in some fish and seafood than others.
Some of the best choices of low-mercury fish highlighted by the
- Saturated fat: 1.65 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
To keep saturated fats to a minimum, try grilling or broiling trout or poaching it in a pan with aromatic vegetables and stock. Or, try using trout in salads, fish pies, or en papillote with fresh herbs.
Baked Goods And Sweets
Cookies, cakes and doughnuts usually contain butter or shortening, making them high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
They also tend to be full of sugar, which can lead to high levels of blood triglycerides, an unhealthy blood fat that can be a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Instead, make your desserts at home, choosing recipes that dont need shortening or lots of butter. This also allows you to modify recipes and cut down the amount of sugar used, to half or three-quarters the recommended amount. You can also enjoy baked fruit as a dessert, or substitute applesauce for eggs or butter in your baking.
Truth: Many People With High Hdls Have Diseased Arteries And Many With Low Hdls Have Very Clean Arteries
One of the hearty healthy effects of olive oil, argues the olive oil industry, is that it raises levels of HDL good cholesterol. But higher HDL levels do not always mean better arteries. Remember the study on monkeys discussed at the beginning of this article? The higher HDL levels of the monkeys consuming a diet rich in monounsaturated fat did not prevent them from developing plaqueridden, diseased arteries.
Moreover, recent research has called into question just how good HDL cholesterol is. Yes, it may have benefits, but scientists are now finding that theres also a bad side to HDL that promotes inflammation and contributes to the build-up of plaque in the artery wall.
This bad side of HDL may explain why several clinical trials aimed at increasing HDL levels failed to show benefits, such as fewer heart attacks.
Whats more, the populations who enjoy the lowest incidences of heart disease in the world, the people living in Okinawa and in other rural regions of Japan, as well as the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico, have very low levels of HDL in the 20s.
Conversely, other people, like some Americans, have very high levels of HDL and still have high rates of clogged arteries and heart attacks.
Finally, always keep in mind that HDL is just one number in a risk group of many. Ultimately, we should focus on the big picture on all the numbers that contribute to heart health.
Also Check: Does Pasta Contain Cholesterol
Olive Oil Good For Every Body Function
Olive oil is natures storehouse of many healthful nutrients like vitamins A, E, D and K. Other nutrients found in olive oil are:
- Magnesium-rich chlorophyll encourages formation of healthy red blood cells.
- Squalene, a precursor to phytoesterols, helps reduce acidity.
- Phytoesterols assists in preventing cholesterol absorption.
- Caffeic and gallic nutrients stimulate the flow of bile which helps alkalise food coming out of the stomach, reducing stress on the pancreas.
- Phenolic compounds protect against fermentation of fats and cholesterol, and may promote higher production of fat-digesting enzymes in the pancreas.
- Cycloartenol lowers the amount of cholesterol in free circulation and increases excretion of bile to mop up excess acidity and increase alkalinity of the food coming out of the stomach.
Olive Oil has been shown to have beneficial effects on virtually every aspect of body function, development and maintenance, including brain development, bone structure, digestion, aging process, the condition of skin and hair, metabolism, and on plaque formation in the blood vessels.
There is so much scientific evidence now that establishes the health benefits of olive oil. You will be hard put to find any other food that has so many positive effects on so many different parts of the body and their functions.
Health Benefits Of Olive Oil
The health benefits of olive oil have been recognised by many ancient physicians like Hippocrates, Galen, Dioscorides, and Diocles. In recent years, modern doctors and nutritionists have realised that extra virgin olive oil, particularly, contributes significant nutritional value to human health.
You should not be too surprised if you read that people in the Mediterranean region, where the bulk of olive oil is produced and enthusiastically consumed, have reaped immense health benefits from olive oil.
Also Check: Tuna Fish And Cholesterol
Consider Vitamin And Mineral Content
If you’re looking to boost your iron intake, black olives are the way to go. A serving delivers about 3 milligrams of the mineral, which translates to about 40 percent of the 8 milligrams men need each day and about 18 percent of the 18 milligrams women should have daily. Iron helps with oxygen transport in your body and helps produce energy. A serving of green olives contains 0.5 milligram of iron. With almost 4 milligrams per serving, green olives contain more than twice the amount of vitamin E as black olives. Those 4 milligrams translate to one-quarter of the 15 milligrams adults need each day. Vitamin E helps protect your cells from damage. Both varieties supply about the same amount of vitamin A, a nutrient essential for healthy eyes, skin and bones.
Olive Oil And Rheumatoid Arthritis
A study in Greece showed that people who had the lowest lifetime consumption of extra virgin olive oil had two and a half times greater probability of developing rheumatoid arthritis than those with the highest lifetime consumption. If you know somebody who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, you must be familiar with the pain and inconvenience it can cause. A rheumatologist of the Arthritis Foundation, which did the research, cites that adding olive oil to your diet could help you protect yourself against rheumatoid arthritis. And, the spokesperson added, since the type of oil consumed in Greece is extra virgin olive oil, that offers additional protection.
Recommended Reading: Cholesterol In Tuna Fish
Whats So Great About Extra Virgin Anyway
Speaking of extra virgin olive oil means speaking of the real, pure juice of an olive. This is one of mother natures healthiest ingredients, high in something called polyphenols.
These powerful little compounds have been the subject of numerous studies and research worldwide, showcasing incredible effects on the body in terms of anti-aging, cardiovascular well-being, and even the handling of neurodegenerative illnesses. Polyphenols have been shown to decrease inflammation, detoxify the body, slow the development of rheumatoid arthritis, and beyond.
Foods To Help Lower Cholesterol
You can increase your HDLs through exercise, but when it comes to your diet, there are several foods that can help with LDL reduction The key here is to reduce, replace and improvise.
Soluble fiber is a gummy fiber that binds to bile and removes it with your bodys waste. For every 1 gram of soluble fiber you eat, you can lower your LDL by 1%. Replacing foods high in saturated fat with mono- and polyunsaturated fats can also help reduce LDL in your body. Its important to find small ways of building these foods into your diet, like swapping out cheese on a salad with avocado slices or replacing a creamy dressing with olive oil and vinegar.
You May Like: Oysters High Cholesterol
Truth: The People On Earth With The Longest Life Expectancy And The Least Heart Disease Do Not Eat Diets Rich In Olive Oil Or Any Other Fat They Do Eat A Diet Rich In Whole Natural Foods Like Vegetables Fruits Whole Grains And Beans
Yes, in the 1950s Ancel Keys and fellow scientists observed that people living in the Mediterranean, especially on the isle of Crete, were lean and heart disease-free. And true, their diet consisted of olive oil, but it also had an abundance of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, coarse whole-grain breads, beans, and fish. And they walked about nine miles daily, often behind an ox and plow.
But much has changed on Crete and throughout the Mediterranean since then. Today, the people of Crete still eat a lot of olive oil, but their intake of whole, natural foods has gone way down, as has their physical activity. The islands new staples are meat, cheese, TV, and the Internet. Today, more than 60% of Cretes adult population and an alarming 50% of its children are overweight.
And has maintaining an olive oil-rich diet saved them from disease? Not at all. In recent years, rates of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension have skyrocketed.
Foods Rich In Unsaturated Fats
Cutting down on saturated fat and replace some of it with unsaturated fats is great way to lower your cholesterol. Foods which contain unsaturated fats include:
- vegetable oils such as olive, sunflower, corn, rapeseed, nut and seed oils
- avocado, nuts and seeds
- fat spreads made from vegetable oils, such as sunflower and olive oil
- oily fish
Oily fish are a good source of healthy unsaturated fats, specifically a type called omega-3 fats. Aim to eat two portions of fish per week, at least one of which should be oily. A portion is 140g, but you could have two or three smaller portions throughout the week. Tinned, frozen or fresh all count e.g. salmon, sardines, pilchards, trout, herring and mackerel.
Avoid coconut and palm oil as, unlike other vegetable oils, they are high in saturated fat.
Recommended Reading: Is Tuna Good For High Cholesterol
The Verdict Is In The Fda Has Spoken
Scientific data reviewed by the FDA shows that replacing saturated fatty acids with their monounsaturated counterparts reduces total levels of LDL cholesterol.
In addition, the European Food Safety Authority stated that by consuming olive oil high in phenolic content daily, such as Hydroxytyrosol and derivatives, people can prevent bad cholesterol oxidation, and in turn, stop atherosclerotic plaque formation from occurring in blood vessels. All of this while lowering the chances of cardiovascular disease .
Cut Out The Trans Fatty Acids
Trans fatty acids are likely present in many of your favorite prepared foods anything in which the nutrition label reads partially hydrogenated vegetable oils so eliminating them from the diet is not a trivial task. But trans fatty acids not only increase LDL cholesterol levels, but they also reduce HDL cholesterol levels. Removing them from your diet will almost certainly result in a measurable increase in HDL levels.
Read Also: Does Shrimp Raise Cholesterol
Read Also: Tuna Good For Cholesterol
Effect Of Olive Oil On Oxidative Parameters
An increased resistance of LDL to oxidation is reported in 5/6 studies, a decrease in LDL oxidation rate is found in 3/4 studies, and the detection of antibodies against oxLDL was also decreased by intervention with olive oil . However, no correlation between polyphenol content and the resistance of LDL to oxidation was found. These data suggest that a moderate polyphenol content may be sufficient to protect LDL from oxidation. Further evidence for this is reflected by the decrease of hydroxyl fatty acids and the Lipoprotein lipase gene expression, which increased significantly after a high polyphenol olive oil intervention , suggesting a direct effect of polyphenols to the transcription of lipid enzyme regulation. These data further verify our network meta-analysis of oxLDL, presented above, which indicates that the major impact on oxLDL is the adherence to the Mediterranean diet, further suggesting that many of the olive oil-attributed benefits might be related to other microconstituents of elements of this diet, in addition to olive oil polyphenols.
Table 2. Percentage changes in the oxidative parameters related to the LDL oxidation after treatment with olive oil with different phenolic content .
Table 3. Percentage changes in the Parameters of the oxidative stress and oxidative damage of DNA& RNA after Treatment with Olive Oil with different phenolic content.
Health Benefits Of Olives
There are many health benefits to consuming olives. Whether you drizzle olive oil over a fresh dip or salad, or mix minced olives into a pasta, youll be treating yourself to a much-needed serving of nutrients your body needs.
Olives contain antioxidants, which have been associated with reducing ones risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer and reducing inflammation in our bodies, says Pike
Olives offer a variety of health benefits, particularly in the realm of heart health. Oleic acid is a type of fatty acid found in olives and they have been shown to improve heart health by regulating cholesterol levels, says Agyeman. So, whether you have high cholesterol or are looking for another rock-star addition to your eating routine for heart health, olives are the way to go.
Due to their high oleic acid and antioxidant polyphenol content, olives have also been found to be the ideal fat to help manage hypertension .
Epidemiological studies have found that the rates of certain cancers are lower in the Mediterranean than in the U.S. This can be attributed to the olive-oil-rich diets there. One study found that oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid of olive oil, is linked to suppressing the growth of breast cancer cells.
You May Like: Snow Crab Cholesterol
Truth: Being Healthier Than Saturated And Hydrogenated Fats Does Not Mean That Adding More Of Them To Your Diet Makes You Healthier
The human body has no essential need to consume oils rich in monounsaturated fat or saturated fat. The only fat our body has an essential need to consume are the polyunsaturated fats , and no more than 2 to 4% of our calories need come from these two polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Olive oil is a very poor source of omega 3s. Youd have to drink seven ounces of olive oil to get sufficient omega 3s. Seven ounces of olive oil is 1,800 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat
Interestingly, a few years ago the American Heart Association lowered the recommended intake of saturated fat to no more than 7% of total calories eaten each day. Olive oil is 14% saturated fat. So if youre using a lot of olive oil on your food, itd be hard to have a diet thats less than 14% saturated fat, which means your arteries are being subjected to double the saturated-fat-limit that the AHA recommends.
So, is olive oil better than butter? Yes. But is it good in and of itself? No.
Blood Sampling And Biochemical Determinations
Blood for plasma lipid and lipoprotein determinations was drawn from fasting patients at 0, 3, 6 and 9 mo. Blood was collected by venipuncture into EDTA-containing vacutainer tubes. Samples were kept on ice before centrifugation at 1700 × g for 15 min at 4°C to obtain plasma.
Plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were measured by enzymatic colorimetric methods using commercial kits . Serum HDL cholesterol was determined in the supernatant after precipitation with phosphotungstic acid and magnesium chloride as described . LDL cholesterol was calculated according to .
Also Check: Is There A Lot Of Cholesterol In Shrimp
Are Olives Good For You 5 Health Benefits According To Nutritionists
Whether pressed into an extra-virgin olive oil or draped against the rim of a martini glass, olives are delicious. But are olives good for you? According to nutritionists, they sure are. Apart from being super delicious, olives are nutritious and are rich in antioxidants, which help to fight inflammation and disease in the body, says the founder of wellness site Flourish Heights, Valerie Agyeman, R.D.
Olives and olive oil are packed with heart-healthy fats and are famed for their starring role in the Mediterranean diet, according to Alyssa Pike, R.D., nutrition communications manager at the International Food Information Council. The Mediterranean diet is considered to be one of the healthiest diets in the world and is listed as one of the recommended eating patterns within the 20202025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
We asked nutritionists, Are olives good for you? and let them count the ways.
Truth: Olive Oil In And Of Itself Does Not Lower Ldl Cholesterol
In just about every study purporting to show that people or animals lowered their LDL bad cholesterol levels after starting to use olive oil, the subjects used olive oil in place of other dietary fats, often saturated fats like butter, coconut oil, or lard. Well, of course LDL cholesterol is going to be lower when olive oil replaces butter. The total amount of saturated fat and/or cholesterol in the diet takes a tumble when butter is removed.
But the fact is: If you replace the olive oil in your diet with beans , your olive oil-enriched diet would end up producing significantly higher LDL cholesterol levels than your bean-enriched diet. Does that mean olive oil raises LDL cholesterol? Well, yes, compared to beans, but it lowers LDL cholesterol compared to butter.
The point is: Its not the addition of olive oil to a diet that is lowering LDL cholesterol levels when it replaces butter, Crisco shortening, or coconut oil. Rather, its the subtraction of arteryclogging fats and LDLcholesterol raising saturated fats, trans fats, and/or cholesterol.
Thats precisely what the official health claim allowed by the Food and Drug Administration states. Here are the claims exact words :
Unfortunately, though, what we usually hear in the media and see on olive oil bottles are only the words heart healthy. Gone are the FDAs many qualifiers. Gone, in effect, is the truth.
Don’t Miss: Do Egg Beaters Have Yolk
Some Olives Are Probiotic Rich
Some olives are made via the process of natural lactic acid fermentation, resulting in a live-culture food, teaming with good-guy bacteria known as probiotics. Probiotic-rich foods are gut health superfoods and are recommended by leading scientists, doctors, and nutritionists as part of any gut-healthy protocol.
Important to know is that not all olives are live, raw, probiotic foods. Canned olives, and olives found on the dry shelves in your grocery store are pasteurized and therefore not live culture. Look for olives in the refrigerated section of your store or check out these.