LOWER CHOLESTEROL For HEALTHY LIVING

This nation’s Number 1 and Number 3 killers, heart disease and stroke are often ignited by too much cholesterol in the blood. If you take the time to plan for healthy living, such as changing your diet and starting a regular exercise program, it might just save your life.

Changing your eating habits to lose weight is a little bit different than changing your diet based on a significant need to omit foods from your diet that are proving to be harmful to your overall health and well being. Dieting to lose weight will certainly improve your health but if you already have existing health problems , then you need to have a healthy diet based on what foods you need to include and what foods you need to omit at mealtime.

Watching what you eat to lower your high cholesterol doesn’t have to mean giving up all of the things you love. Take a look at the foods that are healthy and good for you : A good variety of fruits and vegetables ( with 5 or more servings per day), Grain products like bread , cereal , rice , and pasta ( choose 6 or more servings per day) , Lean meats and poultry ( without skin and up to 6 ounces per day) , Fat-free and low fat milk , Beans and peas , nuts and seeds in limited amounts, and Fatty Fish ( which can be baked or broiled , but limited to 2-3 servings per week ). You should use vegetable oils like olive oil or corn oil when preparing your foods. Use spices to give your food the extra pizzazz you need to add flavor to your favorite dishes.

So what do you need to limit? There are a number of foods to omit from your pantry and refrigerator. Once you replace all of the “unhealthy” with your new healthy choices, you won’t even miss these foods. Whole milk and ice cream should be avoided. Omit butter, egg yolks, and cheese and foods that include them. Organ meats like liver are not going to help lower your cholesterol, and high fat processed meats are out as well (like sausage and hot dogs). Try to also cut out or limit fried foods, solid fats such as lard and shortening, and saturated oils.

Healthy Living involves knowing how to prepare your foods as you learn healthy alternatives for changing your diet. In order to lower your cholesterol, you will have to change your diet. Your doctor may put you on medication if diet changes are not significant enough to lower your cholesterol.

Keep in mind; you need to do this to save your life. This isn’t a diet for weight loss; it is a change in food choices to enable you to live a healthier life, a higher quality of life while lowering your cholesterol. You will significantly reduce your risk for other health problems simply by changing your diet. High cholesterol is a serious health problem, take action to avoid further health complications.