Why You Should Worry About High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy stuff present in the blood to help your body produce hormones and construct healthy tissues. But elevated levels of cholesterol can create fatty deposits in your arteries which makes it hard for sufficient blood flows through your blood vessels raising your chance of cardiovascular disease.
Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream on proteins known as lipoproteins. Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol through the body: LDL cholesterol is known as thebad cholesterol since it results in fatty buildups in arteries . LDL constitutes the majority of your bodys cholesterol. Too much LDL cholesterol in the walls of blood vessels can build up plaque with time narrowing the interiors of these vessels. These plaques can limit or block blood flow from the heart to other organs which can lead to chest pain and increase the risk for heart attack, stroke, and peripheral artery disease .
HDL cholesterol is considered as thegood cholesterol as a healthful level can protect against heart attack and stroke. HDL also carries LDL cholesterol from your arteries and back into the liver, in which the LDL is broken down and hauled out of your system. However, HDL cholesterol does not fully remove LDL cholesterol.
To maintain a healthy cholesterol level, you should look for healthy food and drink choices along with a healthy lifestyle.
Foods To Avoid High Cholesterol
Cholesterol when buildup in the arteries blocks the flow of the blood and leads to coronary heart diseases. You must avoid foods that contain these three types of fat, Saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans-fat. Saturated fat mainly consists of products like meat and dairy products.
These products mainly promote producing more bad cholesterol in your liver. Unsaturated fats consist of certain fish, plants, nuts, and seeds. They influence the bad cholesterol to break down. Now the liver absorbs this cholesterol. Solidifies vegetable oils are some of the food products that come under trans fats. The consistency of trans fats in them is very high.
Some of the foods to avoid with high cholesterol are:
- Fatty beef, lamb, pork.
- Lard and shortening.
- Dairy products, made from whole or reduced-fat milk.
Also, multiple foods contain trans-fat in them. Some of these include potato chips and crackers, packaged frosting, commercially fried foods, bakery goods that contain shortening, buttered popcorn, and many more. Also packed biscuits, cookies and cakes can sometimes have a high amount of cholesterol in them. Hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oil also increases the cholesterol level. Always check the products ingredients before buying them.
What Are Some Recommended Drinks To Lower Cholesterol
Cholesterol levels are an important factor in heart health, and it is important to maintain a healthy level. To do so, it is helpful to understand what causes high cholesterol and what foods and drinks can lower the level. While much of the focus on lowering cholesterol is on what we eat, this review discusses drinks to consider to lower cholesterol levels and improve heart health.
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Raw Cows Milk And Foodborne Illness
Thinking about switching to raw cows milk, also known as unpasteurized milk? It has about the same amount of calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol as regular dairy milk, and some claim it has even more nutrients. But pregnant women and children should avoid drinking raw milk and eating dairy products such as cheese made from raw milk, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Since raw milk doesn’t go through the process of pasteurization that kills potentially harmful bacteria like salmonella, listeria, and E. coli people with compromised immune systems are at higher risk of getting foodborne illness from it, though it has the potential to sicken anyone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unpasteurized milk is 150 times more likely to contain bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses than pasteurized dairy products.
Goat’s Milk: High In Saturated Fat And Cholesterol
Goat’s milk is a good option if you want a beverage with a similar nutritional profile to whole cows milk but you have trouble digesting lactose. On the downside, a 1-cup serving of goat’s milk is high in calories and saturated fat , and it also contains 27 mg of cholesterol.
According to the Mayo Clinic, limiting saturated fats in your diet can help reduce your blood cholesterol levels and lower your risk of coronary artery disease. High levels of cholesterol in your blood can lead to the plaque buildup in your arteries, called atherosclerosis a condition that increases your risk of stroke and heart attack.
Butuza notes that it’s difficult to find a low-fat version of goat’s milk, and that it has fewer essential vitamins and minerals than cow’s milk. Theres a lot less folate and B12 vitamin in goat milk, Butuza says. And if its raw, she says, “Theres a risk of foodborne illness unless you have a goat in your backyard.
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Ldl Cholesterol: How Low Can You Go
- By Dara K. Lee Lewis, MD, Contributor
Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is a clearly established risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease . Lowering LDL with medications and/or lifestyle changes has been shown to lower CVD risk. Just how far to lower LDL, however, has remained controversial.
Current guidelines developed by the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and several other professional organizations recommend lowering elevated LDL levels to 70 milligrams per deciliter in people with high-risk CVD. However, recent studies have suggested that CVD risk may continue to drop as LDL is lowered beyond these targets, leading some cardiologists to believe that our current guidelines are not aggressive enough. Others are concerned that lowering LDL too much may lead to harm.
Eating Well + Exercise
For best results with a healthy lifestyle, new research has found that plunging right in with both healthy eating and exercising is the way to go.3
The Stanford University School of Medicine study involved 200 middle-aged Americans, all sedentary and with poor eating habits. Some were told to launch new food and fitness habits at the same time. Others began dieting but waited several months before beginning to exercise. A third group started exercising but didnt change eating habits till several months later.
All the groups received telephone coaching and were followed for one year. The winning group was the one making food and exercise changes together. The people in this group were most likely to meet U.S. guidelines for exercise and healthy eating , and to keep calories from saturated fat at less than 10% of their total intake of calories.
For best results with a healthy lifestyle, new research has found that plunging right in with both healthy eating and exercising is the way to go.3
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Limit Bad Fats And Cholesterol
Research shows that there isn’t really a link between how much fat you eat and your risk of disease. The biggest influence on your risk is the type of fat you eat. Two unhealthy fats, including saturated and trans fats, increase the amount of cholesterol in your blood cholesterol and increase your risk of developing heart disease. However, two very different types of fat monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats do just the opposite. In fact, research shows that cutting back on saturated fat and replacing it with mono and polyunsaturated fats can help lower the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood.
Foods That Lower Cholesterol Fast
There are various kinds of soluble foods available to reduce your cholesterol level very quickly. Some foods deliver soluble fibers which bind the cholesterol in the digestive system and helps your body to drag them out before they get into circulation. Some of the Foods To Reduce Cholesterol is as follows:
- Oats: having oats for your breakfast is healthy as well as it helps you in losing weight. Oatmeal or cold-oat-based cereals like cheerios are very much low in cholesterol and also tasty. This meal gives you approximately 1-2 grams of soluble fiber. To make it tastier you can also add a half gram of strawberries or banana.
- Beans: beans take a longer time to digest. This is the reason why having beans will keep your stomach full for a long time. Thus, your body will not need any snacks or other high-calorie Foods To Reduce Cholesterol level. Some of the beans are kidney beans, lentils, garbanzos, black-eyed peas, etc.
- Nuts: many think that nuts like almonds, walnuts, peanuts have fats in them and can increase your cholesterol level. But this is false! Nuts are very much nutritious and good for the heart. They contain very low calorie and doesnt increase your weight.
- Soy: Foods like soybeans are very much helpful in lowering cholesterol. Also, food made of soy like tofu, soy milk, etc. is very much nutritious. If you consume 25 grams of soy protein every day, you will automatically lower your LDL rate by 5% to 6%.
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Alcohol Boosts Good Cholesterol
A few studies have found that people who drink alcohol in moderation have lower rates of heart disease, and might even live longer than those who abstain. Alcohol has also been tied to a lower risk of blood clots and decreased levels of inflammation markers.
Many believe that the main benefit of alcohol comes from its ability to raise HDL cholesterol levels .
In particular, red wine might offer the greatest benefit for lowering heart disease risk and death because it contains higher levels of natural plant chemicals — such as resveratrol — that have antioxidant properties and might protect artery walls.
What Is High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance thats found in all cells of the body. Our bodies need cholesterol to make hormones that protect the body, vitamin D and bile salts that are necessary for the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Plus, the brain and nervous system depend on cholesterol for the creation of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.
Our bodies make the cholesterol that we need, but we get cholesterol from our food too. If you have too much cholesterol, it starts to build up in your arteries and may lead to atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries.
Eventually, high cholesterol levels may cause heart and blood flow problems, leading to dangerous blood clots and inflammation that can cause heart attacks and strokes. High cholesterol levels alone do not determine if you are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Other factors include your blood pressure, whether or not you smoke, whether or not you have diabetes, and your age, sex and race.
According to the American Heart Association, many people dont know their cholesterols are too high because there are usually no symptoms. High cholesterol can cause a dangerous accumulation of cholesterol and other deposits on the walls of your arteries, reducing blood flow through the arteries. This can lead to coronary heart disease and complications, such as chest pain , heart attack and stroke.
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How Drinking Beer Affects Cholesterol
Beer is probably the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world. Although beer sometimes garners a bad reputation due to its alcohol content, it also contains a few surprisingly healthy ingredients.
Barley, one such ingredient that is used to make beer, contains polyphenols, which have been linked to lowering cholesterol levels and promoting heart health.
There are also some studies suggesting that alcoholic beverages such as beer may also be able to improve heart health in modest amounts. But can drinking beer also lower your cholesterol levels?
Carry On Carrots Smoothie
Carrots are rich in antioxidants, which may help prevent cardiovascular diseases. Since this cholesterol-fighting smoothie is sprinkled with some other essential elements as well, it can be a must-have for all those who wish to keep their cholesterol at bay. We added in orange and papayas alongside carrots to give it a potential cholesterol-lowering and heart protection combination.
What Youll Need
- ¼ ginger
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
How To Prepare
Start by grating the ginger, cubing the pineapple, and coring the pear. Soak the chia seeds before you make the smoothie. Once done, put all the ingredients in the blender and blitz away. Blend until the liquid is creamy and smooth. Top off with pineapple cubes, if you want a rich by-the-beach drinking experience.
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Organic Cows Milk And Cholesterol
Whole cows milk contains 146 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat, and 24 milligrams of cholesterol in a 1 cup or 8 ounce serving. Its a tremendous and nutrients, contains essential vitamins and minerals, and provides a third of a persons daily recommended intake of calcium, Krivitsky says. Cows milk also contains potassium, which may help prevent high blood pressure . What’s more, a study published in December 2013 in the journal PLoS One found that organic cows milk contains significantly more anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids than conventional milk, which is important because omega-3s promote heart health.
But when it comes to your cholesterol levels, high-fat dairy could get you into trouble, says John Day, MD, cardiologist and medical director at Intermountain Heart Rhythm Specialists in Salt Lake City. Saturated fat in your diet raises LDL cholesterol, which increases your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association. If you drink cow’s milk, most doctors recommend low-fat or nonfat versions. A 1-cup serving of skim milk has 83 calories, no saturated fat, and only 5 mg of cholesterol.
What Are Trans Fatty Acids
Trans fatty acids are formed when a liquid fat is changed into a solid fat through a process called hydrogenation. Many manufacturers use hydrogenated fats in their ingredients because it creates a product with an extended shelf life and better consistency.
Trans fatty acids are especially bad for you. They raise the levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood and lower the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
There are currently no safe levels of trans fat to consume each day, so avoid them completely or eat them as little as possible.
Many manufacturers have stopped using or greatly reduced the amount of trans fats in their foods. But, check the label and avoid:
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How Can I Drink Less Alcohol
Cutting down on alcohol can be easier than you think. Try these tips to help you:
- check the percentage of alcohol in your drinks and swap to lower strength options
- only drink while youre having a meal
- take the bottle off the table while youre eating, so you wont top up without thinking
- alternate alcoholic drinks with soft drinks
- make your drinks last longer by adding ice, water or mixers
- try drinking more slowly
- watch out for very large glasses
- choose smaller amounts, such as a bottle of beer instead of a pint
- buy a measure so you know how much youre drinking.
The Effect Of Beer On Cholesterol And Triglycerides
There are not a lot of studies solely looking at how beer can affect your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Most studies look at all types of alcoholic beverages and their effect on cholesterol, triglycerides, and heart health as a whole. Studies have examined the consumption of beer products on lipids in amounts ranging from 60 to 340 mL daily from anywhere between 4 and 6 weeks on average.
It was found that, in some studies, people drinking at least one beer beverage a day saw an increase in HDL cholesterol levels by up to 11 percent. Additionally, LDL levels in some studies were lowered by up to 18 percent, although some other studies did not see a significant decrease in LDL. The manner in which beer affects your lipid levels is not known. In these studies, the type or brand of beer was not usually noted.
One study also showed that one beer daily could reduce oxidation of LDL. However, consumption of three or more beers daily actually promoted LDL oxidation. Studies have shown that oxidized LDL can promote inflammation of the inner lining of blood vessels and contribute to the formation of atherosclerosis leading to the development of cardiovascular disease.
Although there were some positive effects noted from drinking beer and other types of alcohol, there were also some negative effects: elevated triglyceride levels were also noted as consumption of beer increased. Having very high triglyceride levels is another risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease.
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A Guide To Healthy Eating: Strategies Tips And Recipes To Help You Make Better Food Choices
Eat real food. Thats the essence of todays nutrition message. Our knowledge of nutrition has come full circle, back to eating food that is as close as possible to the way nature made it. Based on a solid foundation of current nutrition science, Harvards Special Health Report A Guide to Healthy Eating: Strategies, tips, and recipes to help you make better food choices describes how to eat for optimum health.
Focus On Fruits Vegetables Whole Grains And Beans
Our typical American diet is now abbreviated as SAD by scientists nationwide because its full of foods that do sad things to both hearts and waistlines. Hyperprocessed foods like potato chips and French fries. Sugar-saturated drinks. And fatty, artery-clogging meats and full-fat dairy foods like cheese.
We dont have to become complete vegetarians to get our cholesterol levels into healthy ranges, studies on the Pritikin Program have found, but clearly, the more vegetables, fruits, potatoes, and other naturally-fiber-rich plant foods we eat, the healthier well be.
Plant foods high in soluble fiber are especially beneficial in lowering total and LDL bad cholesterol levels. Good sources include beans , yams, oats , barley, and berries.
For simple tips on bringing more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans into your life, here is a 5-day sample healthy meal plan from the doctors and dietitians at Pritikin Longevity Center.
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