Recent Articles of Interest

When your liver makes cholesterol, it is carried and given to you throughout your body's cells. When an excess of cholesterol is not used by your body's cells, it can sometimes start sticking to artery walls which leads to getting cardiovascular disease.

When reviewing cholesterol lowering diets, it is important to remember that although dangerous in excess, cholesterol is essential to the body's natural processes. Too much of anything, especially cholesterol, is unhealthy; moderation and watchfulness can solve this problem while allowing the proper consumption to occur.

The American Heart Association recently (2002) prescribed eating at least two servings of fish per week as an effective diet plan to lower high cholesterol. Not only does fish provide a good source of protein, but has also been discovered to contain high levels of omega 3 fatty acids, which has been proven to lower LDL "bad" cholesherol and boost HDL "good" cholesterol.

It is known that Oatmeal and oat bran are rich sources of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber is the type of fiber that lowers the bad Low Density Lipoprotein, known as the bad Low Density Lipoprotein or the LDL cholesterol, without lowering the good High Density Lipoprotein, or the HDL cholesterol. It's been assumed that one can decrease LDL cholesterol by up to 5 percent by taking five to ten grams of soluble fiber a day. This makes oatmeal and oat bran vital in any diet plan to lower high cholesterol

In nuts there are antioxidants such as selenium and Vitamin E, and they also contain a lot of phytonutrients and fiber. Nuts also contain plant sterols and fat, however it should be noted that it is mainly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, that are all known to have a positive effect in lowering the bad LDL cholesterol.

The FDA ruled out - in 1999 - that soy is a great benefit for a healthy heart, in heart health diet reviews and cholesterol redution studies. But after that, its great benefits have been contested, and now the AHA Nutrition committee no longer recommends eating soy to lower cholesterol. Although soy is not in every diet to lower high cholesterol, it is said that it is still able to reduce bad LDL cholesterol by 3%.

Plant sterols, powerful compounds that block the absorption of cholesterol by the body, are found in plants. Some studies have reported a 10 to 15 percent decrease in LDL "bad" cholesterol. From this, the National Cholesterol Education Program recommends those with high cholesterol consume 2 grams of plant sterols per day.

Plant sterols are widely used and are often found in dressings, orange jiuce, margarine, functional cookies, etc. Sterol- fortified foods, by definition, contain 1 gram of plant sterols; it is imperative that the portion size and usage are noted from the labels along with other important details. Plant sterols cannot be consumed by everyone. In fact, AHA suggests that only those with high levels of LDL cholesterol consume plant sterols.