5 Foods to Boost Good Cholesterol

December 2, 2009 · Posted in good cholesterol food · Comment 

This article lists 5 basic foods that can potentially boost your good cholesterol levels. These foods are inexpensive and can be found at any local grocery store.

HDL stands for high density lipoproteins and is often referred to as “good” cholesterol. These proteins transport cholesterol in the blood. If your levels are too high, your risk of heart disease decreases, and likewise, if your levels are low, you risk increases.

There are certain foods that can have a positive effect on your HDL levels. Dark chocolate, salmon, berries, eggs and whole grains are five food items that can help you boost your good cholesterol levels.

A study conducted at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, suggests that eating dark chocolate (the gourmet kind that is 70% cacao) can raise your HDL levels significantly. Eating small daily doses (1/2 ounce) over an extended period of time should help raise your good cholesterol.

According to a Loma Linda University study in California, high density lipoprotein levels rose 4 percent in people who ate two 4-ounce servings of salmon a week for four weeks. Researchers also say that eating other fatty fish, such as, mackerel, herring and sardines should deliver similar benefits. Read more

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Why Cholesterol is a Problem

December 2, 2009 · Posted in cholesterol, cholesterol foods, cholesterol too low, diets to lower cholesterol, foods high cholesterol, good cholesterol, good cholesterol food, high blood pressure and cholesterol, high cholesterol, ldl cholesterol · Comment 

Far from being a totally unwanted substance in the body as many would probably believe, cholesterol is in fact an important constituent of certain bodily hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and of cell membranes. In other words, cholesterol is actually something that is required and which performs vital functions within our bodies.

Why then, are we constantly told that we need to cut down our cholesterol levels? It is because our bodies actually manufacture all the cholesterol that they need. Cholesterol only becomes a problem for us when we consume it in excessive quantities. About three quarters of the cholesterol in our blood is manufactured by our bodies.

Your liver is extremely sensitive to your cholesterol requirement, so if you consume a somewhat greater quantity of it at some point, your body will manufacture a somewhat lesser quantity to keep the overall level in balance. A problem only arises when you consume so much that the ability of your body to properly balance the quantity is compromised.

The average individual requires something under about 14 grams of fat per day to enable them to acquire their requirement of essential fatty acids, but in the United States the average daily consumption is at least eight times that amount. That is, the average daily consumption is greater than 112 grams when only about 14 grams are required. This excess builds up in the arteries and sets in train a health time bomb in the bodies of the individuals concerned.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that cholesterol levels and blood pressure levels increase in proportion to the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol consumed. Read more

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