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Cholesterol advice
how to lower cholesterol
(11 Dec 2007)
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Lowering Cholesterol: Why is it important to lower cholesterol? If you have high levels of bad cholesterol or LDL, then it means that you are at a risk of getting heart disease. Good cholesterol or HDL, on the other hand can prevent heart disease.
That’s the reason why you need to control your cholesterol levels. While you have the option of using medicines to lower the cholesterol, you can also try natural and healthier methods to bring down the cholesterol. Make sure that you discuss treatment methods with your doctor before you decide on one.
Tips to lower cholesterol: Here are a few things that might help.
- It all begins with what you eat. Eliminate red meat from your diet and if you have to eat it, choose lean meats. Eat more of fish and poultry instead. Seafood, which is rich in omega 3 fatty acids are good for health too.
- Avoid foods rich in saturated fats. Choose skimmed milk and low fat cheese. While cooking, use less of margarine or butter and substitute it with olive oil, sesame oil and sunflower oil. Use herbs and condiments to add taste to food, so that you do not have to douse your food with fats.
- Choose foods rich in fiber. Include whole grains, legumes, cereals, fruits and vegetables in your diet.
- Instead of frying your food, try baking, boiling and grilling. This way the food retains its taste and is also healthy.
- While eating out at restaurants is a good diversion, limit these trips and try not to order takeaway meals ever so often. Cook meals from scratch at home as these are healthier and more nourishing. Home-cooked meals also have less of oil than restaurant food.
- Once you’ve taken care of your food habits, pay attention to your exercise schedule. An active lifestyle can do wonders to your health and cholesterol. Take up a sport, enroll in your local gym, participate in an aerobics program, take a walk everyday and include more activities in your daily life. Instead of taking the car to the grocery store, walk; take the stairs instead of the elevator; stretch every now and then if you have a desk job and take a short walk around the office block after lunch.
- Make sure you read food labels while shopping for food at the supermarket. Keep away from products that have too much of fat.
- Refrain from drinking too much alcohol.
- Through a combination of diet, lifestyle habits and exercise, you will be able to lose weight and keep fit.
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answered by G M on 18 Mar 2010, 7:07:28
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Cholesterol is the fatty substance produced by our system that transports fat back to the liver to be broken down and flushed out. It boosts our body defense mechanism, protects red blood cells and muscular membrane, helps in digestion, forms brain and nerve function and sex hormones. This type of cholesterol is good cholesterol HDLs (high density lipoproteins). However, there is another kind of cholesterol - bad cholesterol or LDLs (low density lipoproteins), which builds up plaque in the arteries blocking the flow of blood, thus leading to heart diseases. They also affect the smooth functioning of the liver, kidneys and brain. There are many reasons for bad cholesterol rising. Obesity, stress, high blood pressure, unhealthy food and eating habits are known to lead to LDL. Saturated fats and butter in food, excessive red meat and soft drinks, excessive smoking and drinking being main ones. When the cholesterol level in your body shoots up, you will experience symptoms like dizziness, strokes, chest pain, breathing problem and over sweating. This should serve as an alarm to give up an unhealthy lifestyle.
You can lower your cholesterol level by eating fat free and healthy food, quitting smoking and drinking and exercising regularly. There are some natural foods and food products that you can use. Increase the intake of garlic and ginger as both these lower the bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. You can drink onion juice, which cleans blood, helps the digestive system, normalizes heart beats and reduces cholesterol. You can also make a garlic tonic by boiling a piece of garlic in one glass of milk. Your cholesterol will reduce in a few days. You can reduce your cholesterol considerably in a month’s time by drinking 2-3 tablespoons of coriander seeds boiled in a glass of water. Take this decoction 2-3 times a day to lower your cholesterol and strengthen kidneys. Another mix you can prepare is 10 pieces of 2.5 cm long cinnamon sticks boiled in 5 teacups of water with a tablespoon of honey added to it. Drink this mix while it is still hot to bring down the level of cholesterol. Since bad cholesterol is caused by saturated fats, you can replace the fats with sunflower oil, which contains linoleic acid that helps decrease the level of cholesterol around the blood vessels and normalizes blood circulation. Instead of sunflower you can also use olive oil, a small amount of which can be mixed in green salads. Eating oatmeal, corn flakes and bran, honey, 1 or 2 apples a day also helps reduce the level of cholesterol considerably.
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answered by G M on 9 Sep 2009, 12:31:35
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Deposition of fat in many parts of the body is referred to as cholesterol. It provides structural integrity and helps in many metabolic processes. It acts as an insulator for the nerves and as a part of the defense mechanism and as a shock absorber. Hot water or steam baths prove beneficial. Meditation and yoga are fruit yielding techniques. Vajrasana, padmasana and shalabhansan are some to mention. Isoflavones in soy is an effective remedy. Sunflower seeds and coriander water are also useful home remedies. Simple lifestyle modification can be of great help. Use of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are effective, instead of saturated fats. A walk or regular exercise for half an hour, five times a week helps. Niacin or inositol hexaniacinate is an effective remedy for high cholesterol.
Serum chromium levels are associated with cholesterol, in that a decrease in chromium levels result in an increase in cholesterol levels. Herbs, such as guggul have a positive effect on cholesterol levels. Roots of ginger improve circulation, by thinning the blood. HDL levels are also increased by carnitine supplementation. Dietary fiber and Coenzyme Q10 helps in reduction of total cholesterol levels. Garlic pods help in lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and increasing the good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Fenugreek seeds or onion juice in an empty stomach works wonders. Niacin supplementation is effective. Ginger helps in circulation by thinning the blood. For further information, visit,
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/askquestion/9645/methods-to-decrease-the-levels-of-cholestrol-how-t.html
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answered by Dr C on 1 Jan 2008, 11:14:21
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