Natural Warriors That Fight High LDL Cholesterol Levels

“In order to change we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired.” ~ Unknown

High cholesterol levels in proving to be a real and serious hazard to our healthy living quest. The offending culprit, LDL cholesterol, is the bad “evil twin” to the good HDL cholesterol which is very good for us.

Our high cholesterol problem can be traced directly to that harmful malcontent, “trans fat” that wormed itself into our diets thanks to food manufacturers looking to increase their profits by substituting natural wholesome food ingredients with cheap artificial junk made in laboratories. Yecch!

And the really disgusting aspect of this mess is that trans fats have NO nutritional value at all. And the only purpose they served was as a “bulk filler” to fool us into believing that we were getting real food and true volume in whatever we were eating. So for example, if you were eating a 5 oz hamburger, only 2 to 3 ounces was real beef.; the rest was trans fat. So when you start peeling the onion, it like we were eating consumable silly putty favored to taste like beef. Yecch! Yecch!

The problem arose when that with cheap artificial junk made in labs, could NOT be metabolized (absorbed and burned-up) as energy by our bodies. So that trans fat just stayed stuck in our arteries and veins, clogging-up our systems making us sick and fat!

NATURAL FOOD WARRIORS BEAT HIGH LDL LEVELS
It’s no secret that high cholesterol levels lead to an onslaught of serious more serious diseases, such a heart problems, strokes, obesity, poor circulation and fatigue. The cholesterol problem is totally out of control and it’s a national health crisis. There’s no argument that our high, bad LDL cholesterol levels need be lowered -- dramatically and quickly. Why? Because the higher your HDL cholesterol, the lower your risk of heart disease. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic says it is just as important to raise good HDL cholesterol levels as it is to lower bad LDL levels. According to research findings clearly show:

WHAT IS CHOLESTEROL, ANYWAY?
Cholesterol is a white waxy substance, vital for the human body as it helps form cell membranes, various hormones, bile salts and vitamin D.

High-density lipoproteins. HDL, or "good," cholesterol picks up excess cholesterol in your blood and takes it back to your liver for disposal. The higher your HDL cholesterol, the less bad cholesterol you'll have in your blood.

Doctors are writing lots of prescriptions and drug companies are making huge profits from selling us drugs that lower high LDL cholesterol levels.

But thank goodness there are natural foods that are proven warriors that can effectively and consistently lower high, bad LDL cholesterol levels. Mother Nature rides in on her trusty steed with a battalion of whole natural foods that we can eat that will lower our bad cholesterol levels and help in restoring healthy to our bodies.

Lisa Dorfman, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says, “If you eat a predominantly plant-based diet—with lots of fruits and vegetables plus some fish—you are on the right track to keeping your cholesterol at a healthy level.” Indeed, there are superfoods that we can eat plenty of that deliver a “one-two, knock-out punch” to bad cholesterol while boosting our good HDL cholesterol levels.

The general-rule-of-thumb is that you want to keep your total cholesterol level under 200, with LDL (the bad one) under 110 and HDL (the good one) greater than 35;’ notes source article author, Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness. The Mayo Clinic suggests that both men and women could benefit greatly by have HDL levels of 50+ mg/dl. If your not sure what your current cholesterol level is, ask your doctor for a baseline cholesterol test which will tell you where you are and were you need to head to get on the right track.

So what are the “superfoods” that fight high levels of LDL cholesterol and help us maintain healthy levels of total cholesterol levels?

SUPER FOODS THAT FIGHT BAD LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS
Several scientific clinical studies have proven the value and effectiveness of these foods in lower bad LDL levels and/or increase good HDL levels.

• Almonds: Studies have found that eating just a quarter cup of almonds a day can lower your LDL by 4.4 percent, according to dietitian Leslie Bonci, who is also the director of sports nutrition at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
  
  
• Oatmeal: Gives you great results due to the high level of soluble fiber contains oatmeal. “The soluble fiber binds to the bile acids that are the precursor to the development of cholesterol and help flush it out.” explains Bonci.
  
  
• “Fish: Omega-3 fatty acids are widely considered to be the best of the “good” fats, and the best place to find them is in fish — especially fatty fishes like salmon, halibut and tuna. According to Dorfman of the ADA, you want to get 1.5 to 3 grams per day of omega-3. A 4-ounce piece of salmon will give you close to 3 grams, and you can also get these fatty acids from walnuts and flaxseed (two tablespoons of flaxseed provides 3.5 grams) and in fish oil supplements.”
  
  
• “Red wine: Not everything that’s good for you has to feel virtuous. A glass of red wine, which contains flavanols (also found in red grape juice and dark cocoa), has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties that may help lower cholesterol and stave off heart disease. But in this case, more is definitely not better. “For women, the recommendation is one drink a day and for men it’s two,” says Bonci. More than that will, literally, dilute any potential benefits.”
  
  
• Soy Products:Like soybeans, soy nuts, and edamame beans, natto (the green vegetable form of soybeans), “plus any products made from soy (like tofu, soymilk, etc.) can help to reduce the production of new cholesterol. A little can go a long way—aim for about 25 grams of soy protein a day (the amount in a cup of edamame). Note: The debate about how much soy a woman should consume, continues on. For those who are at an increased risk of breast or prostate cancer may want to skip it since too much of soy’s phyto-estrogens can act similarly to the body’s own estrogen (which has been shown to feed some hormone-dependent tumors).
  

Foods to avoid or greatly reduce consumption of because they are bad for your cholesterol levels include: whole-milk dairy products, processed meats such as, bacon, sausages, and most deli meats), processed baked goods, and tropical oils (like palm and coconut oils).””

The Take Away: You can safely take control of your cholesterol levels by eating more of those foods that have scientific evidence for lowering bad LDL cholesterol levels and increasing good HDL cholesterol numbers. Lowering your cholesterol can lower your risks for heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

Note: If you don't know what your cholesterol level is, you can test and track your own cholesterol level at home with a self-help home testing kit.

(Source: Cholesterol: Five foods that fight it and five that feed it.)


EAT WELL... BE WELL!
_o_^
<\ ...