Health Care Advice - Better Healthy Life

It has become fairly common knowledge that a low cholesterol level is synonymous with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. We know that we need to lower those cholesterol numbers. But saying it is a whole lot easier than doing it. One of the reasons is that we may not accurately understand what is required to lower a cholesterol level. We have heard that a healthy diet and plenty of exercise will bring the numbers down. While this is true, there is some discrepancy as to exactly what that healthy diet looks like. Some people deduce that in order to lower cholesterol, you need to avoid high cholesterol foods. While this may be true to some extent, it is not always high cholesterol foods that are the culprit in an unhealthy diet. Instead of checking the cholesterol in the foods that you eat, you might do yourself better service by watching the amount of fat in your diet.

Types of Fats

There is more than one type of fat found in our food, and not all of them are considered bad. Polyunsaturated fat and unsaturated fat can actually cause the liver to produce less of the LDL (bad) cholesterol, and more of the HDL (good) cholesterol. These types of fats can actually be beneficial to our bodies. When it comes to high cholesterol foods, you must look at the selections that are high in saturated fats. This is the type of fat that is bad for you because it can raise your “bad” cholesterol level and put you in a higher risk category for a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, an American diet is generally quite full of high cholesterol foods that are high in saturated fats. This has led to a rise in obesity and well as a rise in cholesterol level and heart disease risk.

Foods to Avoid

Some high cholesterol foods are high in saturated fat, some are high in cholesterol and some are high in both. These are the foods that you should keep to a minimum in your diet, especially the ones that offer very little nutritional content in return. One of the worst high cholesterol foods is fatty and processed meat. Substitute these high cholesterol foods with leaner choices like chicken breast or lean cuts of beef. Throw in a serving of fish or two every week as well. Salmon is a good choice because it is high in omega 3 fatty acids, which will help to counter the effects of high cholesterol foods. Other high cholesterol foods include dairy products like egg yolks, butter and cream. In many cases, you can opt for low-fat varieties that will contain less fat and still offer the nutritional benefits that dairy foods offer.

By avoiding high cholesterol foods as well as those choices that are high in saturated fat, you can go far in keeping your body and your cholesterol levels healthy. And this is the first step in cutting your risk of serious conditions like cardiovascular disease that can increase the possibility of a heart attack or stroke.

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