Food and Nutrition

Top foods that reduce cholesterol

By Mdhil | Mdhil – Wed, Sep 19, 2012 9:22 PM PHT

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Snack on nuts, drizzle a little olive oil, grab an apple, dine on fish, bite a chocolate. All these foods can help you lower your cholesterol.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is made by the liver. It is a part of every cell in the body and serves many vital functions. However, sometimes our bodies make more cholesterol than we need, and this excess cholesterol circulates in the bloodstream. High levels of cholesterol in the blood can clog blood vessels and increase the risk for heart disease and stroke.

 

Top foods to lower cholesterol:

 Oats: Oats, the sturdy breakfast food is not only a fine way to start the day, but it can also really bring down your bad LDL cholesterol levels without lowering your good cholesterol. It is rich in soluble fibre (beta-glucan), a type of fibre, which helps lower LDL. Soluble fibre appears to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines.

Fish: Fish are one of the foods that will help lower your cholesterol because they have a high concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids. ‘Fatty’ fish like salmon, lake trout and herring are the best for lowering your cholesterol. Two servings of fish a week will make a huge difference on your cholesterol levels.

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Beans: Researchers at Arizona State University Polytechnic found that adding ½ a cup of beans to soup lowers total cholesterol, including LDL, by up to 8%. All thanks to the high fibre levels in this veggie, which slows the rate and amount of absorption of cholesterol in certain foods. So, try black, kidney, or pinto beans; each supplies about one-third of your day’s fibre needs.

Garlic: Apart from adding that extra zing to any dish, garlic has been found to be highly effective in lowering cholesterol, preventing blood clots and keeping blood pressure under check, and offering protection against infections. Pop 2 to 4 fresh cloves daily and reap its benefits.

Nuts: Certain nuts like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and pistachios deserve an honoured spot in the kitchen of every healthy eater. They contain omega-3 fatty acids. They’re also a source of fibre and vitamin-E.

Soya: A number of studies show that soy protein may lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and triglycerides without lowering ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. Soya products are high in protein and fibre, and low in saturated fat, which are additional plusses to this heart-healthy food.

Olive oil: Olive oil contains a mix of antioxidants that can lower LDL cholesterol without affecting HDL cholesterol level. The Food and Drug Administration, USA recommends using about 2 tablespoons (about 23 grams) of olive oil a day to get its heart-healthy benefits. Some research suggests that the cholesterol-lowering effects of olive oil are even greater if you choose extra-virgin olive oil, meaning the oil is less processed and contains more heart-healthy antioxidants.

Cinnamon: Plant compounds in cinnamon have been found to be effective in lowering cholesterol. The results of a study from 2003 in Pakistan showed lower levels of fasting glucose, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol after 40 days of cinnamon use with levels continuing to drop for 20 days after that.

Apple: Eating an apple or two each day may reduce heart disease risk factors, a new study shows. Apples are rich in fibre, which assists in improving our digestive system function. It’s also rich in polyphenols which stimulate metabolism and fat breakdown in the blood, thereby considerably reducing the risks of cardiovascular diseases like stroke or heart attack.

Blueberries: Pterostilbene — the fat-fighting compound in blueberries is responsible for regulating lipids and cholesterol in the bloodstream. Antioxidants in blueberries have been found to lower bad cholesterol and improve cholesterol health in several notable studies.

Cranberries: Cranberries are rich sources of anthocyanins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins, plant chemicals that prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidising, a process that makes it more likely to stick to your artery walls. These chemicals also keep red blood cells from getting too sticky. An added bonus: They initiate a complex chemical reaction that helps blood vessels relax. Plus, they decrease LDL cholesterol and increase HDL.

Flaxseeds: Flaxseed oil contains the essential fatty-acid alpha linolenic acid, and whole flaxseed provides fibre and other health-boosting compounds that may contribute to lowering cholesterol and decreasing cardiovascular health risks.

Chocolate: The powerful antioxidant in chocolate helps build HDL cholesterol levels. Remember to choose the dark or bittersweet kind. Compared to milk chocolate, it has more than 3 times as many antioxidants, which prevent blood platelets from sticking together and may even keep arteries unclogged.

Brown rice: Higher intakes of whole grains such as brown rice are associated with a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. One cup of cooked brown rice has 4gms of dietary fibre, which is 14% of the recommended daily value based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. This source of insoluble fiber lowers cholesterol and decreases your chance of heart disease and may also help slow its progression.

 

With inputs from Ryan Fernando, Performance Nutritionist and Weight Management Expert, QUA Nutrition

Photographs via sxc.hu

Food and Nutrition

How Many Calories In An Egg?

Posted on July 8, 2012 by By YML Staff

The number of egg calories depends on the size of the egg and how it is cooked.

However please bear in mind that eggs are a very economical way to fulfill the essential nutritional requirements of the body. So I wouldn’t worry too much about egg calories as long as eaten in moderation.

You will find that yolk has approximately 3.5 times more calories than egg white; frying and scrambling add 20 extra calories to egg due to oil or milk content, as compared to boiling or poaching. Calories in a standard sized egg:

- Yolk 60 kcal – White18 kcal – Scrambled 100 kcal – Fried 98 kcal – Boiled egg 75 kcal – Poached 75 kcal

Egg White and Egg Yolk: Egg white has no cholesterol, and can be quite useful in weight loss, as it is low in sugar and calories and high in good quality protein with up to 40 different amino acids, protein is known to help you keep full longer.

Egg yolk, on the other hand, is high in saturated fats and even higher in cholesterol content. So it is not recommended if you are trying to lose weight. However, egg yolk has many more health benefits than egg white. It is full of nutrients, vitamins and essential fatty acids: protein, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, riboflavin, selenium, folate, carotenoids, vitamins B12, D, E and K.

Egg Nutrition Facts:

Popular choices for egg consumption are chicken, duck, roe, and caviar. The egg most often humanly consumed by far is the produce of the chicken.

• Chicken eggs provide all essential amino acids for humans, and provide several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid (vitamin B9), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium. They are also a single-food source of protein.

• Vitamin D is naturally found in only a few foods, and yolk is one of them.

• They contain the best quality of protein with the perfect composition and it includes all the essential amino acids.

• Lutein, zeaxanthin and carotenoid help in preventing eye disease and macular degeneration.

• By preventing blood cloths, they can help decrease the risk of heart complications or stroke, but it should be eaten in moderation.

• Egg, on average, includes 10% fat and only 3% is in the form of saturated fats.

• Selenium and vitamin E in eggs may help protect cells from oxidation and cancers.

• Zinc in eggs, especially in egg yolk help maintain a stronger immune system.

• Choline helps regulate the cardiovascular system, nervous system and brain. One egg yolk contains approximately 300 micrograms of choline. Choline deficiency may also lead to the deficiency of folic acid.

• Minerals, vitamins and particularly high sulphur content in eggs promote healthy nails and hair.

• Calcium is essential in strengthening bones and teeth and vitamin D helps raise calcium absorption.

• It has a glycemic index value of zero and has no effect on blood glucose levels.

About The Author:More about Tim Karlilar

Health

Cholesterol 101: What You Need to Know

 http://www.meschinohealth.com

 

 Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer in our society, claiming the lives of one in every two men and one in every three women. High cholesterol is a cardinal risk for heart attack, stroke and other vascular diseases, but many people are unclear about how and why cholesterol has this effect. So, what is cholesterol, why does your body make too much of it under certain conditions and how exactly does it lead to heart attack, stroke and other vascular problems? More importantly, how we can lower our risk of dying from cholesterol-driven cardiovascular disease.

Cholesterol is a fatty-waxy material that is found in high fat meat and dairy products, as well as egg yolks, organ meats and shellfish. Our bodies make additional cholesterol in the liver when we eat foods that contain a lot of saturated fat such as beef, pork, lamb, high fat dairy products, chocolate (made with cocoa butter), and possibly coconut and palm oil. Eating trans fats (hydrogenated fats) found in many fried foods, cookies, pastries, muffins, shortenings etc, also increase the body’s cholesterol production.

How does the liver handle cholesterol?

Most of the cholesterol you eat is absorbed and transported to the liver. Once in the liver, cholesterol, as well as the additional cholesterol your liver makes when you eat foods high in saturated fat and/or trans fats, is transported out of the liver in a carrier vehicle known as the VLDL.

The VLDL looks a bit like an egg. Its outer shell is made out of protein and on the inside of the shell you see cholesterol where the white of the egg would normally reside. In this model the yolk represents triglycerides (the saturated and trans fats you consume form triglycerides – a storage form of fat, within the liver). As the VLDL circulates through the bloodstream the triglycerides are taken up by your fat cells (and your fat cells in turn get larger) and by your muscles. Fat is the primary fuel that muscles burn when you are at rest and during light to moderate activity. Thus, the more muscle mass you have, the faster you burn fat, even when sitting in a chair.

Once the triglycerides are removed from the VLDL the remnant particle is known as the LDL-cholesterol, which is the bad cholesterol that promotes heart attack and stroke.

How does LDL-cholesterol promote heart attack and stroke?

Although various body tissues remove LDL-cholesterol from the bloodstream and use the cholesterol to make their cell membrane, bile acids, vitamin D and various hormones (e.g. estrogen, progesterone, cortisone, testosterone), once the tissues have acquired all the cholesterol they need, they stop extracting LDL-cholesterol from the bloodstream. And any extra LDL-cholesterol continues to circulate in your arteries.

This is where the trouble begins, as LDL-cholesterol tends to stick to the walls of the artery causing progressive narrowing of these important blood vessels. It’s a bit more complex than this, but the bottom line is that excess LDL-cholesterol causes narrowing of your arteries. Once 85% of the artery is blocked with LDL-cholesterol plaque symptoms start to occur, such as angina and transient ischemic attacks (resembling mini-strokes).

In up to 40% of cases the first symptom is a sudden death heart attack. So, waiting for symptoms to occur is not a good idea. A good idea is to keep your LDL-cholesterol level within the safe and desirable zone, which is under 2.5 mmol/L (96 mg/dL).  If you already had a heart attack, stroke, heart operation, or have diabetes, or kidney disease (including kidney transplant), then you should aim for an LDL-cholesterol level at or below 2.0 mmol/L (77 mg/dL).

What is the difference between Total Cholesterol, LDL-Cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol?

Your doctor wants to know several things about your cholesterol level, which indicate your risk level for heart attack and stroke.

The total cholesterol comprises the total amount of cholesterol in your bloodstream when you total the amount found in the VLDL, the LDL and the HDL. This number should be below 3.9 mmol//L (150 mg/dL) or at worst 4.7 mmol/L (180 mg/dL).

The LDL-cholesterol was covered in the section above.

The HDL-cholesterol is the good cholesterol in that it is a carrier vessel that vacuums up the cholesterol in the artery wall and brings it back to the liver. Thus, a high HDL-cholesterol helps to protect you against heart disease. Being fit and at your ideal weight helps to raise the HDL-cholesterol.

How can you lower your total and LDL-cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels naturally?

1. Eat less saturated fat and trans fats - To lower your cholesterol, it is best to refrain from eating foods that are high in saturated fat and trans fats, as explained above. This means relying on chicken breast, turkey breast and fish as your main protein staples if you are not a vegetarian. It also means not eating any milk or yogurt that is above 1% milk fat or any cheese that is above 3% milk fat. It means eliminating butter, ice cream, whipped cream and all other high fat dairy products, and avoiding fried food, foods containing a lot of trans fats as well food containing palm or coconut oil.
2. Eat cholesterol-lowering fiber - You should also eat foods that drag cholesterol out of the body and have been shown to lower blood cholesterol by up to 25%. These foods include beans and peas (especially red kidney beans, chick peas and lentils), oat bran and oat meal, psyllium husk fiber (2-3 teaspoons per day), ground flaxseed (2 tablespoons per day) and fruits containing pectin fiber (apples, peaches, pears, plums).
3. Consider supplementing with natural agents proven to lower cholesterol – certain natural supplements aimed at lowering cholesterol contain Gum Guggul and Artichoke Leaf Extract. Both of these natural agents have been used in human clinical trials to lower the bad cholesterol by up to 27% and triglycerides by up to 30%.

In some cases prescription drugs may also be required to get cholesterol into the safe range. However, studies suggest that 90% of individuals with high cholesterol can reduce it into the ideal range using the nutrition, lifestyle and supplementation practices outlined above.

In Short:

Gum Guggul or Gugulipid is derived from the mukul myrrh tree, which contains guggulsterones - the active constituent that account for its cholesterol- and triglyceride-lowering effects.  Gugulipid was granted approval in India for marketing as a cholesterol- and trigylceride-lowering drug in June 1986, due to its impressive efficacy and safety. Gugulipid has been shown to help the body clear excess cholesterol and triglycerides from the bloodstream.

Artichoke Leaf Extract contains active constituents that help flush cholesterol from the body via the fecal route. It increases the flow of cholesterol (and bile, which is a building block of cholesterol) from the liver to the intestinal tract. Human studies indicate that Artichoke Leaf Extract alone can reduce LDL-cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by 23%.

In some cases prescription drugs may also be required to get cholesterol into the safe range. However, studies suggest that 90% of individuals with high cholesterol can reduce it into the ideal range using the nutrition, lifestyle and supplementation practices outlined above.

10 Foods That Can Lower Your Cholesterol

Food and Nutrition

10 Foods That Can Lower Your Cholesterol

By Self Magazine

January 27th, 2012

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Had your annual physical lately? Here's a reason why you should: Even if you eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, your cholesterol might be higher than you'd like.

Janis Jilbrin, R.D., co-author of The Life You Want! Get Motivated, Lose Weight and Be Happy (Simon & Schuster 2011, co-authored with Bob Greene and psychologist Anne Kearney-Cooke), explains the deal with cholesterol and what foods you can eat to help keep yours down.

What would cause your cholesterol to be high in the first place? "Sometimes having high LDL -- the "bad" cholesterol -- is genetic," says Jilbrin. LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein, and it's considered the "bad" cholesterol, Jilbrin explains, because it takes fat and deposits it into your arteries. That's the cholesterol you want to keep "down."

Then there's the "good" cholesterol, called HDL (high-density lipoprotein), which travels in your bloodstream and removes the bad cholesterol. You can also be genetically predisposed to having low levels of HDL; other causes, according to Jilbrin, include being overweight or obese, being sedentary, smoking, a high carb intake, having type 2 diabetes and certain drugs, including beta blockers and steroids.

And why should you be worried about any of this? Heart disease -- which, no, you're not too young to worry about. According to Jilbrin, "Arterial plaque can start forming in young adulthood, even in childhood." 

Uh oh. She continues: "And trying to fix it once you've had a heart attack or show signs of heart disease never reduces your risk like you would have if you'd taken care of the problem earlier."

Jilbrin says that the most important type of foods to eat to keep your cholesterol levels healthy are "viscous fibers." Sounds ... gross? Don't worry, they're actually tasty. Here's a list of some yummy viscous fibers:

• Barley
• Oatmeal
• Oat bran
• Ground psyllium seeds
• Apples
• Oranges
• Prunes
• Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• Brussels sprouts

Viscous fibers work, Jilbrin explains, for two reasons: First, they trap some of the fat and cholesterol from your diet, sending it out of the body before it can be absorbed.
 

Second: "Your body uses bile acids, made from cholesterol, to break down the fat you eat, so it can be absorbed in the intestines," Jilbrin explains. "Once the bile acid is secreted in the intestine and does its work breaking down fat, most of the bile acids are reabsorbed." Are you with us so far? "But viscous fibers block some of that reabsorption, so, in order to create more bile acid, the body draws from cholesterol in the blood, thus lowering LDL (the "bad" cholesterol)."
 

Almonds, while not viscous fibers, are also good to eat, notes Jilbrin, because they contain a monounsaturated fat and a plant sterol, both of which lower LDL.

Of course -- it's not just what you eat. Maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding saturated fats and staying active, says Jilbrin, are also super important to keeping your cholesterol levels -- and your heart -- healthy.

Cholesterol Control: Fact and Fiction

Health

 

Cholesterol Control: Fact and Fiction

 

Get the entire 411 on cholesterol.

Of all the risk factors for coronary heart disease (blockages in the heart’s arteries that can cause heart attacks), cholesterol receives the most attention. Hundreds of medical studies confirm the truth: you must understand cholesterol in order to manage your heart health.

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The Internet offers millions of sites promising to reveal the “secrets” of cholesterol. Some are accurate, but many are not. Beware websites claiming that cholesterol has nothing to do with heart disease (wrong!) and those that tout “magic” remedies that promise to drive cholesterol levels to super-low levels that will melt away plaques and reverse heart disease (don’t count on it!). Accurate, evidence-based information is your key to successful cholesterol management.

What is cholesterol?

A waxy, yellowish white substance, cholesterol was first isolated by an eighteenth-century French chemist who was studying gallstones. This observation led scientists to link cholesterol to illness and disease, but subsequent research proved this theory incorrect. It turns out that every cell in your body contains cholesterol, and you can’t live without it!

Cholesterol is a key component of the cell membrane, the outer barrier between the cell and the rest of the body. Within the membrane, cholesterol molecules act like tollbooths, helping to regulate the passage of materials into and out of the cell. Cholesterol also serves as a building block for many important hormones, including estrogen and testosterone. Your body even needs cholesterol to manufacture vitamin D from sunlight.

VIDEO: Where Does Cholesterol Come From?

Cholesterol tests: what do the numbers mean?

When you get a cholesterol test (lipid profile), we measure cholesterol and fat concentrations in your blood. The typical blood test provides four values.

Lipid Profile

Test	Normal Value
LDL cholesterol	Less than 130
HDL cholesterol	Greater than 40 in men and 45 in women
Total cholesterol	Less than 200
Triglycerides	Less than 150

Of these tests, LDL cholesterol is most important. A high LDL cholesterol is associated with the development of coronary heart disease, as well as stroke and peripheral arterial disease. In general, the lower the LDL cholesterol, the lower the risk of heart disease. While we state that a value less than 130 is “normal,” the person with multiple risk factors for coronary heart disease should aim for 100 or less and the person who already has heart disease should target 70 or less.

HDL cholesterol is the “good” cholesterol. The higher a person’s HDL, the lower the risk of coronary heart disease. In general, your total cholesterol is somewhat less important than your LDL or HDL values.

Elevated triglycerides have been associated with coronary heart disease, although scientists have not yet proven that lowering triglycerides is protective.

How can you improve your cholesterol levels?

Although many people take statins (see below) to improve their cholesterol profiles, diet and lifestyle are important. Stated another way, don’t count on a daily pill to offset a diet filled with saturated fat and a lifestyle devoid of exercise. Through your choices and actions, you can make a difference in your cholesterol values.

Improve Your Cholesterol Profile

Diet
Avoid saturated fats	Limit red and processed meats, full fat dairy products
Favor monounsaturated fats	Use olive oil and canola oil
Incorporate dietary fiber	Whole grains, oats and oatmeal, beans, barley
Exercise	Aerobic exercise at least 30 minutes per day
Ideal body weight	Achieve by decreasing calories and increasing exercise
Quit smoking	Increases HDL

Some studies suggest that consuming soy protein and spreads fortified with plant sterols may also help to lower LDL. 

“I followed the recommendations, but I can’t get my LDL down. Why not?”

Diet is important, but there are other factors at play in determining your cholesterol values. For the most part, your body manufactures the cholesterol in your blood. Eighty percent of the body’s cholesterol is made by the liver, while only twenty percent comes from your diet. This explains why it can be so difficult to lower cholesterol by dietary interventions alone.

Do you need a statin?

Because lowering LDL cholesterol is the primary goal of cholesterol management, drugs that reduce LDL levels are the “big guns” in our armamentarium. Statins, the most important class of LDL-lowering drugs, have revolutionized cardiology. Acting on the liver (which produces most of the cholesterol in our blood), statins can cause dramatic drops in blood levels of LDL and total cholesterol.

Statins save lives and prevent heart attacks and strokes. Among people who have already suffered a heart attack, statins reduce the risks of a second heart attack and death. Statins also benefit people who have a high LDL cholesterol but who have never had a heart attack. Recent studies suggest that they even help certain people who have normal LDL levels but a high level of inflammation in their bodies.

The critical message here is that if you have had a heart attack or if you have a high LDL cholesterol in spite of lifestyle changes, ask your doctor if a statin is right for you.

Do you know your cholesterol numbers?

You can’t make plans to control your cholesterol unless you know your numbers. Beginning at age 20, every adult should have a lipid panel at least every five years. If any values are abnormal or if you have cardiovascular disease, you’ll need the blood test annually. Most patients on statins should have a lipid panel every six months.

Today, only half of young adults have undergone cholesterol screening. Find the time in your schedule and have this simple blood test. It could save your life.

Understanding the limitations of dietary interventions can help people with high cholesterol levels accept the fact that they have to take cholesterol-lowering drugs. If your cholesterol level is 50 percent higher than normal, you are simply not going to reach your cholesterol goals by diet alone. In such a case, you need to combine a good diet with the right medication.