How You Can Start Lowering Your Cholesterol - No Drugs
You can bring your cholesterol levels back into the correct range
, without taking prescription drugs, but before you try this you should check with your doctor first, and keep on with medications that he has prescribed for you, but this doesn't stop you from learning what you can do to get your health under your control again.
Now, if you have no idea what your cholesterol levels are, then make an appointment to see your doctor to request them, if you have already had the cholesterol test done, but just don't know the results. Make an appointment to see your doctor if you haven't had your cholesterol levels checked recently - with a blood test. Knowing your cholesterol numbers is important, so don't delay it any longer.
Learn what foods can lower your LDL, Low Density Lipoproteins, and what sends it the wrong way. For you to not be at risk of a heart attack, this number needs to be as low as possible. Now you can help this cholesterol number be low just by what you eat. Starting the day with a bowl containing one and a half cups of the slowly cooked oatmeal provides your body with about 4 grams of fiber. The fiber from oatmeal is the soluble type, and it helps to reduce the amount of cholesterol that you have in your blood. I have read reports that it takes about 5 to 10 grams of this soluble fiber to start lowering your blood pressure by about 5%. The advantage of oat and oat bran is that it lowers the LDLs without affecting the good High Density Lipoproteins, HDLs, which is the result you need.
Legumes should also play a large part in your diet to reduce high cholesterol, that is dried beans, peas and lentils. These are plant products and as such do not contain cholesterol. The plant protein that they contain helps to keep your muscles healthy, and also takes care of your bones, hair, skin, tendons and internal organs too.
Normally when we think of protein, it is usually in the form of meat from animals, but because of being animal protein, it contains a lot of cholesterol which is bad for your cholesterol levels. Eating plant protein instead of animal protein will still give your body the protein it needs, but it will also help to lower you cholesterol levels.
It is good to have legumes in the house, as they are so easy to use in a soup, especially if you have a crockpot to cook them in during the day while you are busy elsewhere. Throw in some whole brown rice, and it will make you an inexpensive meal that is healthy for you. You can also used cans of lentils, but make sure you rinse them thoroughly before using them to get rid of as much sodium as possible.
If you can tolerate soy, it too is a good source of plant protein, and some reports claim that soy products may reduce LDLs by as much as 3%. Soy products, since they are grown as soybeans contain plant protein which is good for you, as well as it containing fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Fish is something that not everyone enjoys, but it is a good food to eat for protein, and to help lower your cholesterol. Fish contains omega 3 fatty acids, which according to research increases the HDL the good cholesterol as it lowers the LDL the bad cholesterol. This is exactly what is needed by most people. It is recommended by the Heart and Stroke Foundation that you try to eat fish 2 or 4 times each week, particularly salmon, trout, mackerel, herring and sardines.
Nuts are also a good food to eat, as long as you don't eat too many of them each day. Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans pistachios and some pine nuts are rich in vitamin E, selenium and fiber. They contain plant sterols and fat which is shown to reduce the LDL cholesterol. Eating too many, you only need a handful a day, can lead to you eating too many calories, so be careful!
Of course, it is good to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables each day. Apples and pears contain the soluble fiber which is good for you, and also chickpeas. We are lucky that we have a large variety of fruits and vegetables available these days, fruits that have been imported from other countries, and are quite reasonably priced. Even with apples you have a large choice of the particular variety of apple. It's no longer just a red or a green apple! There is no need to be bored when choosing and eating fruits and vegetables these days.
By eating the foods mentioned above, you can take control of your cholesterol levels, and get them moving in the right direction, and do this without having to take prescription drugs - only if your doctor says that this is okay for you to do!
by: Steve Jackson
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