Cholesterol Fighting Foods You Should Eat

17 March, 2010 No Comment

Cholesterol is a waxy compound that is found naturally in the body and plays an important role in the formation of cell membranes and hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. It also helps in the production of bile acids and various fat soluble vitamins. It is manufactured by the liver and is a mixture of fat and steroids.The cholesterol that is not produced by the liver comes from our diet. Foods of animal origin such as meal, organ meats, liver, fish, poultry and dairy products are high in cholesterol.

The good and bad cholesterol:

There are two types of cholesterol- LDL cholesterol which is also known as the bad cholesterol and is the culprit that increases the risk for coronary heart disease and tends to accumulate in the arteries making their walls thicker and narrowing them.

The other type of cholesterol is HDL cholesterol that is known as the good cholesterol and helps prevent heart disease by removing cholesterol from the walls of the arteries and expelling it from the liver.

Cholesterol fighting foods you should eat:

Chocolates: Now if you are a chocolate lover, here’s the time to celebrate. Research tells us that dark, bitter chocolate helps unclog the arteries and is a great cholesterol lowering agent. This is because chocolates contain flavonoids that are known to reduce the level of LDL cholesterol in the body.

Walnuts: A study reveled that munching about 45g of whole nuts at least 6 days a week for about a month can considerably lower your LDL cholesterol levels by 9.3%. This is because these abound in monosaturated fats and help combat heart disease.

Soy: This is one miracle food when it comes to beating cholesterol. It helps keep your heart healthy and lacerates the affect saturated fat has on your body.

Fatty Fish: Fatty fish such as sardines, salmon and herring are rich sources of Omega 3 fats known to help reduce the level of cholesterol in the body. Various studies reveal that about two servings of fatty fish every week helps reduce LDL cholesterol and raises the level of HDL cholesterol by 4% in one month.

Mushrooms: There is scientific evidence to support that fact that maitake, shiitake or enoki mushrooms can help lower your cholesterol by 25% in one month.