Misconception: If The Nutrition Facts Label Shows No Cholesterol The Food Is Heart Healthy
A foods Nutrition Facts label can be helpful for choosing heart-healthy foods, if you know what to look for.
Many foods marketed as low-cholesterol have high levels of saturated or trans fats, both of which raise blood cholesterol.
Look for how much saturated fat, trans fat and total calories are in a serving. Ingredients are listed in descending order of use, so choose products where fats and oils are near the end of the ingredients list.
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Misconception: You Should Wait For Your Doctor To Mention Cholesterol
You need to take charge of your health. Starting at age 20, ask your doctor to test your cholesterol, assess your factors and estimate your risk for a heart attack or stroke.
If youre between 20 and 39, your doctor can assess your lifetime risk. If youre between 40 and 75, they will assess your 10-year risk.
Once you know your risk, you can take action to lower it. Your doctor may recommend diet and lifestyle changes and possibly medication. Follow all of your doctors instructions and have your cholesterol and other risk factors checked every four to six years as long as your risk remains low.
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How Elevated Cholesterol Harms Health
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that your body needs in small amounts to function properly. Problems arise when levels of bad cholesterol rise in your blood and remain elevated over time. This waxy substance can harden, block arteries and cause heart attacks and stroke. For this reason it’s recommended that you aim to keep your total cholesterol under 200 milligrams per deciliter.
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Do I Need To Cut Down On Dietary Cholesterol
Most people dont need to cut down on the cholesterol thats found in foods- so you can still enjoy eggs and shellfish.
Its much more important to cut down on foods which contain saturated fats. Thats because saturated fats affect how the liver handles cholesterol. So, eating saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol. Try to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats which are better for your heart.
For some people those with familial hypercholesterolaemia , those who have high cholesterol, and those who are at high risk of or have cardiovascular disease the recommendation is to limit cholesterol in food to no more than 300mg a day. In the case of FH, ideally less than 200 mg a day.
Even though dietary cholesterol only has a small effect on blood cholesterol, people with high cholesterol and FH already have high levels of blood cholesterol, so it seems sensible not to eat too much cholesterol in food.
Can You Lower Your Cholesterol Without Statins
For those trying to lower high cholesterol, the most used medication is based on statins that specifically treats high LDL. But, many are complaining from statin side effects that are pretty ugly and are looking more and more for alternative and natural ways to lower their LDL.
It is really possible to reduce LDL cholesterol numbers without statin drugs?
It seems that this indeedcan be possible, even though the time required depends on individual health status, dieting habits, level of exercising, genetic heritage and gender.
Women seem to be more prone to suffer from high cholesterol, especially on menopause.
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Choose Fish In Water Not Oil
Fish is a heart healthy food, but read the label carefully when you buy canned fish. Doctors recommend that you watch your intake of fat when you have high triglycerides, especially saturated and trans fats. It is a better idea to buy canned fish that is packed in water. You will get all the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in fish without the downside of additional fats that may contribute to high triglyceride levels. The American Heart Association recommends that people eat at least 2 servings of fatty fish per week. Fatty fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, herring, trout, mackerel, sardines, and albacore tuna.
How Can I Lower My Cholesterol
You can lower your cholesterol through heart-healthy lifestyle changes. They include a heart-healthy eating plan, weight management, and regular physical activity.
If the lifestyle changes alone do not lower your cholesterol enough, you may also need to take medicines. There are several types of cholesterol-lowering drugs available, including statins. If you take medicines to lower your cholesterol, you still should continue with the lifestyle changes.
Some people with familial hypercholesterolemia may receive a treatment called lipoprotein apheresis. This treatment uses a filtering machine to remove LDL cholesterol from the blood. Then the machine returns the rest of the blood back to the person.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
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What Do Your Cholesterol Levels Mean
Cholesterol is a type of fat that has many important functions in the body. The body makes a lot of cholesterol on its own.
We require an optimal balance of cholesterol, but, we can disrupt this balance with a poor diet, inactivity, stress, and more.
When your doctor draws a cholesterol blood panel, they are usually looking at four things: triglycerides , LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol.
How Nuts Can Reduce Your Levels Of Cholesterol
With heart disease being the number one killer in the United States, researchers at Loma Linda University Health advise us to go nuts with our health. Patricia Kelikani
Patricia Kelikani, Health Journalist : When it comes to your health, its okay to go a little nuts. Especially since heart disease is so prevalent in our country.
Dr. Mark Reeves Surgical Oncologist : In fact, one-third of Americans have high LDL cholesterolthe bad kind of cholesterol. Those with high total cholesterol have twice the risk of heart disease compared to people whose cholesterol levels are under 200.
KELIKANI: With heart disease being the number one killer in the United States, researchers at Loma Linda University Health advise us to go nuts with our health.
DR. REEVES: Back in 1993, Loma Linda University Health made a landmark discovery that reversed the health advice from the American Heart Association. Up until then, the organization advised the public against eating nuts because of the high fat content.
KELIKANI: However, Dr. Joan Sabaté discovered that adding one to two servings of nuts to our daily diets could actually cut our risk of having a heart attack in half. During the initial study, the researchers put subjects on a two-month diet known as the American Heart Association step-one diet to lower cholesterol.
DR. REEVES: Half of those subjects were fed the same diet with 20 percent of the calories coming from walnuts. The following month, the groups switched.
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Other Health Benefits Of Cashews
1. Cashews have heart-healthy properties that can help in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Micronutrients like potassium, Vitamin E and B6 and folic acid offer protection from heart disease.
2. You can include cashews in controlled portions in weight loss diet too. And nut just cashews, but all nuts are high in calories but are super healthy at the same time. Portion control is the key when it comes to eat nuts in weight loss diet.
3. Zeaxanthin and lutein are antioxidants in cashews that can be beneficial for eye health. Regular consumption of cashews can offer protection to eyes from damage and can prevent loss of vision that comes with age.
4. Cashews also contain copper and iron. The two nutrients work together to help in formation of red blood cells. Regular consumption of cashews can optimise bone health too.
As far as you practice moderation, cashews, which are a product of nature, can benefit your body in numerous ways. Eat them guilt-free, every day!
Foods That Increase Your Good Cholesterol Levels
After years of canvassing against obesity and cholesterol, the FDA has programmed people to think of cholesterol as a dirty word, and something to run away from for the sake of your bodys health. But cholesterol being inherently negative is a misconception. The truth is that our body needs cholesterol in order to accomplish certain tasks.
Its important for you to understand that there are two types of cholesterol good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. The goal should be to avoid bad cholesterol , and increase good cholesterol .
What is good cholesterol?The good cholesterol, or HDL, carries fat from the heart to the liver, enabling the process of fat metabolism. This, in turn, helps the body reduce the chances of getting small fat globules stuck in the blood vessels. And in the long run, this aids in maintaining health, and reducing risk of heart attack and stroke.
According to the American Heart Association, it is recommended to have your cholesterol levels checked right from the age of 20 onwards, to monitor the level of cholesterol and control it accordingly. The average level of cholesterol in your blood should be around 60 mg/dl. Lower than normal levels have cholesterol levels within the range of 40-60 mg/dl.
Read on to learn about ten foods that will help you boost your bodys good cholesterol or HDL levels:
So dont be afraid of cholesterol. Or rather, be very afraid of bad cholesterol, but embrace good cholesterol as an integral part of your diet!
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Understanding Good Versus Bad Cholesterol
Because oil and water dont mix, cholesterol is packaged in vehicles called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is considered an unhealthy form of cholesterol because it travels around depositing cholesterol in your organs and tissues. Thats why its recommended that you keep LDL below 100 milligrams per deciliter.
On the other hand, high-density lipoprotein sweeps up cholesterol and takes it to your liver for elimination. Its recommended that you aim to keep levels of this good cholesterol above 60 milligrams per deciliter.
Do Nuts Lower Your Risk For Heart Disease
Nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, contain high amounts of unsaturated fat or good fats, which increase high-density lipoprotein and lower low-density lipoprotein .
LDL is a bad cholesterol because it clogs up your arteries. This is why high LDL levels increase a person’s risk of heart attacks and strokes.
HDL, on the other hand, is your “good” cholesterol because it carries “bad” cholesterol away from the arteries to the liver. Lower HDL levels are linked to heart disease whereas higher HDL levels may actually help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
While nuts lower your risk of heart disease by lowering your LDL cholesterol, research suggests that the frequent eating of nuts benefits the heart beyond this cholesterol-lowering effect.
Nuts may provide other heart and overall health advantages by decreasing blood pressure and reducing visceral adiposity, which is the fat that surrounds your organs in your abdomen. Having too much visceral fat increases your chance of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
The health benefits of eating nuts are best studied in walnuts, a type of nut that is especially high in omega-3 fatty acids, the same “good” fats found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines, and albacore tuna.
Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids have several heart benefits, such as:
Of course, besides unsaturated fats, there are other health benefits to nuts including:
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Peanuts Can Decrease The Risk For Diabetes
Many people think of diabetes and heart disease as totally unrelated problems. But the truth is, having diabetes increases your risk of developing and dying of heart disease. Research has shown that eating nuts and peanut butter is linked to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes.
The key is that peanuts are a good source of plant protein. With over 7 grams of protein per ounce, peanuts have more protein than any other nut. Research from Harvard School of Public Health shows that substituting a serving of red or processed meat with a serving of vegetable protein, such as peanuts or peanut butter, once per day, can reduce type 2 diabetes risk by 7-21%.
Peanuts are among the list of foods certified by the American Heart Association®s Heart-Check* program. The American Heart Association® recommends a heart healthy dietary pattern that includes a variety of nuts, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthy foods. Also, peanuts have a Food & Drug Administration Qualified Health Claim that states: Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces of most nuts, such as peanuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.
If youre a peanut lover, the message is clear: The next time youre trying to decide what to have for a snack, go for some heart healthy peanuts!
Click here for some recipe ideas to get more peanuts and peanut butter into your diet.
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Prepare Your Food A Little Differently
Its not only what you eat its how you eat it. Just as you can change what you buy in the grocery store, you can also choose healthier ways to make your food that help lower your cholesterol naturally. For example:
- Trim fat and remove the skin when cooking meat or fish. This helps you get the protein while reducing fat intake.
- Focus on boiling, broiling, baking, poaching or grilling. These are better methods of preparation than deep frying or breading, which can bring in extra fat.
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What Nuts Are High In Fiber
Aside from being a source of unsaturated fats, nuts are packed with other nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that make them a vital ingredient for your diet.
In particular, nuts are exceptionally high in fiber.
Fiber is carbohydrates that the body cannot break down into sugar molecules and pass through the stomach undigested.
Thanks to this property, fiber helps the body regulate and use sugars.
Fiber is essential for your digestive systems health, so you need to eat enough fiber-rich foods for a healthy lifestyle, which include fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and cereals.
All nuts are high in fiber compared to other foods.
Check out the fiber content of a handful of nuts :
- Hazelnuts 2.9g
- Almonds 3.5g
- Pistachios 2.9g
Of course, since you should only include about a handful of nuts a day, you should also eat other low-calorie foods such as vegetables.
The Dietary Guidelines For Americans Summarized
Heres a summary of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans:
Avoid industrial trans fats.
Replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats, and aim to get less than 10% of your calories from saturated fats.
Reduce calories from solid animal fats with plant oils when possible.
Prioritize seafood , lean meats, poultry, eggs, legumes , nuts, seeds, and soy products over red and processed meats as sources of protein.
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Putting Together A Low Cholesterol Diet
When it comes to investing money, experts recommend creating a portfolio of diverse investments instead of putting all your eggs in one basket. The same holds true for eating your way to lower cholesterol. Adding several foods to lower cholesterol in different ways should work better than focusing on one or two.
A largely vegetarian “dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods” substantially lowers LDL, triglycerides, and blood pressure. The key dietary components are plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains instead of highly refined ones, and protein mostly from plants. Add margarine enriched with plant sterols oats, barley, psyllium, okra, and eggplant, all rich in soluble fiber soy protein and whole almonds.
Of course, shifting to a cholesterol-lowering diet takes more attention than popping a daily statin. It means expanding the variety of foods you usually put in your shopping cart and getting used to new textures and flavors. But it’s a “natural” way to lower cholesterol, and it avoids the risk of muscle problems and other side effects that plague some people who take statins.
Just as important, a diet that is heavy on fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts is good for the body in ways beyond lowering cholesterol. It keeps blood pressure in check. It helps arteries stay flexible and responsive. It’s good for bones and digestive health, for vision and mental health.
Oats And Oat Bran: Just A Little Every Day
Oats and oat bran contain beta-glucan, a water-soluble fiber that helps reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol circulating in the blood. A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in December 2014 found that a daily intake of at least 3 grams of oat beta-glucan reduces total cholesterol and cuts LDL cholesterol levels. That’s the amount in ¼ cup of uncooked oat bran or 1½ cups of cooked steel-cut oatmeal.
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Eat Just 4 Cashew Nuts A Day You Get 15 Amazing Health Benefits Are You Eating Them Now
Eat Just 4 Cashew Nuts A Day, You Get 15 Amazing Health Benefits! Are You Eating Them Now?Did you recognize the shape of cashew nuts? They are mostly sweets and children love to eat them as well..Cashew nuts or kaju in Hindi that is full of anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals those are healthy for normal function of your body..Here Are List of Health Benefits of the Cashew Nuts..https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cashew_nuts.JPG.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CSIRO_ScienceImage_3499_Cashew_nuts.jpg.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cashew_nut_indust.jpg.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cashew_Nut_Tree_-_%E0%B4%95%E0%B4%B6%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%B5%E0%B5%8D_01.JPG.https://www.flickr.com/photos/goenchi_mathi/8683412484.
Video taken from the channel: 7ReMix Healthy Tips TV
Animal cells produce cholesterol, which means that only foods derived from animals contain dietary cholesterol. Nuts, including cashew nuts, do not contain cholesterol.Cashews Raise Good Cholesterol.
The heart health benefits of cashews dont end at lowering LDL and total cholesterol. A group of researchers investigated the impact that eating cashews had on.Its true that cashews have a pretty high fat content. A single serving contains nearly 20 percent of your recommended daily fat intake, according to the U.S.
List of related literature:
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What Are The Types Of Cholesterol
Cholesterol in the blood doesn’t move through the body on its own. It combines with proteins to travel through the bloodstream. Cholesterol and protein traveling together are called lipoproteins .
Low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein are the lipoproteines that most of us have heard about.
Low-density lipoproteins, or “bad cholesterol,” can build up on the walls of the arteries. Cholesterol and other substances in the blood form plaque . Plaque buildup can make blood vessels become stiffer, narrower, or blocked. Plaque makes it easier for blood clots to form. A blood clot can block a narrowed artery and cause a heart attack or stroke.
Atherosclerosis , or hardening of the arteries, also leads to decreased blood flow to vital organs, including the brain, intestines, and kidneys.
High-density lipoproteins, or “good cholesterol,” carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver. In the liver, cholesterol is broken down and removed from the body.
High levels of LDL and low levels of HDL increase a person’s risk of heart disease.
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