With today’s busy lifestyle, more and more people are looking to make positive changes to their lives and diet in order to improve their overall health. Luckily, this is a task that has been made simple as there have never been as many resources available. Information about food is available through every media – books, magazines, internet sites, mobile apps and much more. While one may panic when they hear that their cholesterol is high, the good news is that you can reduce your cholesterol naturally in a short time by making some very simple dietary changes.
By making simple changes to your diet, you will get more nutrition then ever before, reap incredible health benefits for your heart and body, and positive changes to your overall health and wellbeing will occur.
- Switch to Healthier Fats
The total amount of fat you eat, whether it has a high or low fat content isn’t really linked with disease. What really matters is the type of fat you eat. The bad fats – saturated and trans fats, increase the risk for certain diseases, while the good fats – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, lower disease risk.
The key to a healthy diet is to include more good fats such as fatty fish, seeds such as flaxseed and seed oils, olive oil, avocados, nuts such as walnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds and also nut butters. Furthermore, it is important to limit saturated fats to a minimum by reducing red meat, dairy, vegetable oils, pastries, cakes, biscuits and fried foods.
- Up your Omega-3 intake
Omega-3 fats have been shown to lower triglycerides, balance cholesterol, regulate heart rate and make blood platelets less sticky, overall improving heart health considerably. Omega-3 are found in high amounts in oily fish and to a lesser degree in nuts and seeds. Whilst making sure you eat plenty of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines, it is important for good health, supplementing with a daily dose of high quality Omega-3 fish oil such as Eskimo-3, to ensure you achieve the optimum intake of omega-3.
Plant Sterols
Studies have proven that plant sterols can help to reduce cholesterol. The plant stanols in Zerochol® work by partially blocking the uptake of cholesterol in the gut, so less gets absorbed into your blood stream. The body naturally produces cholesterol and cholesterol is also contained in the food we eat. Both these sources of cholesterol enter the bloodstream, and can be blocked by Zerochol®.
According to new European research, Zerochol® has proven to lower blood cholesterol, which may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Taken just once a day with your main meal, Zerochol® is very convenient and effective.
4. Soluble Fibre
Foods such as oats contain soluble fibre which can reduce LDL, bad cholesterol by limiting the amount of cholesterol absorbed by your body. Studies have shown that consuming 10 to 25 grams soluble fibre a day can lower cholesterol by 15%.
By including foods such as porridge, oatcakes, fruits (apples, prunes and pears in particular), vegetables, pulses (kidney beans, lentils, and chickpeas), you should be able to obtain the recommended amount of soluble fibre daily.
Fruits & Vegetables
Eating at least five portions of fruits and vegetables a day will reduce the risk of heart disease possible due to the high amount of antioxidants present in these foods. Antioxidants help prevent the LDL cholesterol from oxidising, which prevents plaque from building up on the insides of the walls of the arteries.
Today there is an ever-growing body of research showing that the epidemic of diseases associated with the Western diet — cancer, heart disease, depression and much more — might be curtailed simply by modifying our diet and lifestyle choices. Overall, in order to maintain a healthy heart and body, make these simple dietary changes your first step to lowering your cholesterol.