Diets for Lowering Cholesterol

Hope in Diets for Lowering Cholesterol

            More and more people are looking for diets for lowering cholesterol.  According to recent studies, cardiovascular or heart problems have ousted cancer as the number one disease that attacks Americans.  Because of this knowledge, more people want to go on diets for lowering cholesterol.  One thing to remember is that it is not good to completely eradicate cholesterol in the diet because cholesterol is needed by the body for many functions and processes.  So, lowering the cholesterol content is very helpful to keep the body healthy.

            Here are some things to do for diets for lowering cholesterol.  First, it is important to reduce the amount of high-fat food, especially those that have high saturated fat in them.  There are two kinds of dietary fat: saturated and unsaturated; saturated fat is considered to be the “bad” one, while unsaturated is considered to be the “good one”.  Saturated fat is one of the major culprits which help cholesterol levels to shoot up, so it is best to limit this kind of fat in the diet.  Sources of saturated fat include animal products, hydrogenated fats (which cause atherosclerosis or narrowing of blood vessels), and some vegetable fats (coconut oil and cocoa butter).

            The second thing to do is to substitute saturated fats with unsaturated ones.  Since unsaturated fats are considered the “good” fats, it is best to go for this kind, instead of the bad ones.  Unsaturated fats dominate in the likes of safflower, soybean, corn, sesame, and sunflower oils – which are also common kinds of cooking oil.  Another kind of polyunsaturated fat could be found in fish – more commonly known as omega-3 fatty acids.  They are heart-friendly oils and should be taken more than saturated fats. 

            These kinds of diets could also help a person to maintain a healthy weight.  Studies have shown that being overweight could also give rise to developing a cardiovascular disease in the future.  There may also be predisposing factors that could add to the risk of developing other diseases.  Another thing to learn is reading the nutritional labels of food before buying them.  This will be a perfect weapon against buying foods that contain a lot of harmful ingredients. 

            Going on diets for lowering cholesterol will help a person to steer clear of cardiovascular diseases.  More and more people are suffering from heart problems and it is very important not to join those people.  Having a healthy lifestyle with a regular exercise routine will go a long way to keeping a person healthy. 

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