Cholesterol, Good And Bad: How Do You Manage It?

By Josef Bichler

The word cholesterol back in the 50s was hardly heard of or may not even be born than. Not only cholesterol but many other diseases started to appear later in the seventies and all of this can only be linked to one thing: Lifestyle!

Many diseases including high cholesterol are a lifestyle disease that is directly connected to diets high in trans-fats and some animal fats.

When you look at statistics after the war in Europe there was hardly a case found with cardiovascular disease, stroke or many other diseases. There were several reasons at that time for this to happen. There was no such luxury as take away, junk or processed foods. The food supply was short and the simplest and cheapest food available was the healthiest; meat was only seen for special occasions and added for flavour or taste only.

Cholesterol - knowing where it comes from is half the cure! This applies to most illness in knowing what the course is. Most of the time it's a lifestyle disease that directly goes back to the diet. Excessive amounts of fats, mainly trans-fats, are the leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Cholesterol becomes effective if there is a high level of LDL (bad cholesterol) in the blood; it can build up in the walls of your arteries making them hard and narrow. A type of hardening called by the medical profession is atherosclerosis, reducing the blood flow to your heart. This is as we know it: high blood pressure, which is treated in most cases with a medication to thin the blood; it does not cure the problem.

Conventional medicine is not the best or only solution, although there is plenty you can do to control cholesterol and even reverse it.

We need cholesterol - our body wouldn't function without it. Yes, we need cholesterol, the good and the bad, to make our body work properly. It is best to have a blood test to find out your LDL and HDL levels. Cholesterol is a waxy fat's essential for your body to work properly. But when you have too much in your blood it will build up on the walls of your arteries. Therefore the right balance between LDL (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol is most important to keep in good general health.

The body makes its own cholesterol if it needs it. The problem happens when we eat too much of trans-fats and this is not the right balance. Being on the right diet is important. Be selective when shopping for food, read the fine print on labels, although most don't tell the full truth.

There are products containing less than 0.5% of trans-fat, and yet by law the label can say this product has "no trans fat." You may think this is only a small amount but it can mount up quickly if you already have cholesterol.

How do we manage it? Simply change what you eat; the higher your cholesterol reading the more vegetables, fruit and high in dietary fibre you should eat.

There are many plants which contain plant sterols such as Brussels sprout, wheat germ, sesame - oil, wheat bran etc. They are all high in plant sterols. If you are on a diet with sufficient amount of plant sterols the body absorbs less cholesterol because plant sterols compete with cholesterol for absorption in to the blood stream. The body does most of the hard work, all we have to do is to give a little helping hand. For instance, cholesterol or high density lipoprotein takes cholesterol away from the blood vessel for the liver to dissolve it. LDL (bad cholesterol) or low density lipoprotein takes bad cholesterol from the liver to body tissues and this one does the damage. Therefor cholesterol balancing is the key. The right supplements can also help to balance and to get cholesterol under control. Heart disease is still one of the leading causes of death in the western world and most of the time from blocked arteries.

More about foods, also the best natural supplementation that has the ingredients of many healthy organic fruits and beneficial fats such as omega-3 to add to your daily diet, just follow the link below, information is free.

Josef Bichler has a passion for wellness and showing others how to live healthy lives. He has helped countless others achieve their health objectives through lifestyle changes, the meaning of right supplementation and understanding the benefits of eating healthy. For more information on Josef and how he can help you live a healthy and pain free life, visit his site at http://josefbichler.com/free

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