Peter Clark asked:


There are many men looking for a good diet to lower cholesterol, or other cholesterol lowering strategies. Is lowering cholesterol important to your health?

Yes you bet it is, and if you need to lower your cholesterol read on for some tips on beginning a diet to lower cholesterol naturally.

Your diet plays a role in how much you reduce, or increase, your cholesterol. While some people with high cholesterol may understand what foods lead to this common health problem, they are often unaware of what a diet for lowering cholesterol should look like.

Here, you will learn more about what types of foods are good to include in a diet to lower cholesterol.

For breakfast, you will want to avoid eggs with yolks. If you do feel as though you are in the mood for eggs, you should consider only cooking egg whites. If you really want to follow a diet for treating high cholesterol, you will be sure to eat oatmeal for breakfast.

Incorporating oatmeal into your diet is known to be one of the best ways to lower your LDL cholesterol. To reduce your cholesterol even further, consider adding fresh berries to your oatmeal. 

A diet for lowering cholesterol should consist of lots of vegetables. Some of the different dishes that you may want to include in your diet plan include stir fry’s, garden salads and vegetable soup. When you choose meat, be sure to read labels.

Looks for cuts of meat which are lower in fat. Also keep in mind that if you are on a diet for treating high cholesterol, it is a good idea to avoid certain cooking methods, such as deep drying.

A diet for treating high cholesterol should include whole grains, instead of starches, which may increase your cholesterol. Avoid white pasta, rice and bread.

You will also want to be sure to avoid potatoes, which are known to be very fattening and may also increase your cholesterol levels.

Finally, it is important to pay attention to what you are cooking with. Oils and butter should both be avoided if you wish to successfully follow a diet for lowering cholesterol. Consider replacing these fattening foods with pepper, chili and other metabolism boosters instead.

Making healthier choices is the main key to following a diet meant to lower cholesterol. Avoid all of the foods which you have always been told are fattening and opt for ones which are known to be healthy. A diet for lowering cholesterol is one of the easiest ways to treat this common health problem and, ultimately, can help add years to your life. 

However don’t just rely on changing your diet to lower your cholesterol, there is a lot more you can do.

Peter Clark asked:


Do you need to lower your cholesterol? Is it possible to lower cholesterol naturally? Hmmm, a perplexing question. And one which a huge number of people need an answer to as so many people have high cholesterol and need to lower their levels.

The question “can you lower cholesterol naturally” is one which needs to be preceded by another question. When you ask can you lower cholesterol naturally what do you mean by “naturally”?

Lowering cholesterol isn’t easy, and there are a number of options to lower cholesterol and achieve better overall heart health. Some involve risks.

You can try drugs, statin drugs are the common cholesterol lowering drugs that are regularly prescribed by doctors. Or you can try a diet to lower cholesterol. Or you can try other methods like natural nutritional supplements and natural products which utilize active ingredients that are not “drugs”, that are naturally occuring and are known to be safe.

There is no clear answer to what is a “natural’ way to lower cholesterol. So for the purposes of this article I shall assume that “naturally” lowering cholesterol is lowering cholesterol levels without the use of drugs.

Because it’s the use of drugs that scares so many people. Maybe they’ve had a heart attack or their doctor says they need to pay more attention to their heart health, and next thing they’re on statin drugs which they will, it is assumed, take for the rest of their lives.

Statin drugs have their problems and have been linked to various health problems. Many people are very wary of going onto a drug long term that is linked to health problems.

The first thing to do then, when you seem to have high blood cholesterol levels or your doctor has suggested that you need to be more heart smart and pay more attention to your heart health, is to try a natural approach.

Just about everyone can benefit from a better diet, and a diet to lower cholesterol is one of the most important steps you can take in a “natural” (ie non drug) approach. We all eat too many processed foods and foods high in bad fats and so we should pay more attention to our diet.

Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is the key when looking for a diet that helps lower our cholesterol. Avoid too much meat and diary high in saturated fats, and substitute this with grains, vegetables and fruits.

And get plenty of exercise, exercise helps a lot in lowering cholesterol as well as with our overall health, and heart health is also a factor of overall health as well as total cholesterol levels.

But often a change in diet, and incorporating exercise into your daily routine isn’t sufficient to reduce cholesterol levels significantly. This is often because your body manufactures it’s own cholesterol, and changing your diet doesn’t stop this.

So if you’re looking for a natural approach you need to consider natural cholesterol lowering supplements as well.

The best natural supplements are those which tackle the problem from a range of angles. The very best natural cholesterol lowering supplement helps lower your LDL cholesterol, the bad one, and raise your HDL cholesterol, the good one.

It also helps lower your body’s production of cholesterol, and also helps reduce your body’s absorption of it in your gut from your food. On top of this it increases the excretion of bile acid, and bile acid carries cholesterol, so this too helps reduce your overall levels.

And it has other natural ingredients that offer more wide ranging benefits to your cardiovascular system generally, so giving you a boost to overall heart health.

And as this product is made from totally natural ingredients you don’t risk nasty side effects to your health that you risk if you elect to take statin drugs.

So yes, there is a way to lower cholesterol naturally. It involves a total natural approach including diet and exercise, and the use of natural cholesterol lowering supplements. It works and you don’t take any risk to your health from unwanted side effects that may result from prescription drugs.

Peter Clark asked:


Naturally reducing your cholesterol can be as easy as adding a few different foods to your diet. Depending on the specific type of food that you add to your diet, there is a good chance that you will begin to see amazing results in a very short period of time. Here is a list of foods that help to lower cholesterol.

One of the most well known low cholesterol foods is oatmeal. If you are looking for a food which is not only tasty, but that will also give you a jumpstart in the morning, then oatmeal is a great choice for you. It contains something called beta-glucan, which is well known for reducing cholesterol levels, and eating oats increases the soluble fiber in your diet, which is also important.

If you want to make it more healthy, however, you will want to think about topping it with fresh berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and even cranberries or grapes will make a great addition to oatmeal.

 

Berries help prevent oxidation of LDL, or bad cholesterol. Even more importantly, they are delicious. Keep in mind that various other types of fruits are also known to reduce bad cholesterol and increase HDL, or good cholesterol.

Another one of the most well known low cholesterol foods is beans. The reason that they are such a great choice is because they contain high amounts of fiber and little fat. One of the good things about beans is they can make a great addition to just about any meal.

 

Also keep in mind that lentils also belong to the list of foods that help to lower cholesterol, for the same exact reason.

Although red meat should be avoided, you do not need to become a vegetarian. Poultry without the skin, fish without the skin and eggs without the yolks all make the list of foods that help to lower cholesterol. In comparison to red meat and seafood, such as shrimp and lobster, these foods contain a minimal amount of saturated fat and cholesterol.

These are just a few of the different low cholesterol foods you can consider adding to your diet if you are interested in reducing your own cholesterol.

 

Since there are many others out there, you may want to make your own list or have your doctor help you. The more that you choose from a list of foods that help to lower cholesterol, the healthier you will be.

 

But if you really want to tackle cholesterol then you need to use a multi pronged attack, and use supplements specifically targeted at lowering cholesterol as well as a change of diet. There is a range of excellent natural and organic supplements available which are highly effective at lowering cholesterol.

 

And you won’t find them in your local drugstore.