Andy Rhodes asked:


As we all know, man must eat in order for man to perform his or her everyday tasks. A persons food consumption varies. There are some that content with only one round and there are some that are not satisfied with just one round of meal. The selection of food solely depends of the persons preference. There are some people that are picky and would rather opt for healthy foods. However, there are some that either do not care or do not know that the type of food that one consumes is unhealthy and has some effects on the body.

And because of that, more and more people these days have high cholesterol levels. Mostly because of the type of food that are available today. On the other hand, one can still recuperate from this condition by consuming healthy foods that have low fat content. There are also some types of food that lowers a persons cholesterol level.

For people who constantly consume foods that are rich in saturated fat and red meat should think about minimizing their intake of that sort of food. Mainly because they are at constant risk that may and can lead to life threatening sickness. These life threatening sickness are the effects of the accumulated cholesterol that in the body.

The only way to counter this is by having a well balanced and healthy diet. A well balanced diet means that the food intake of a person must come from all of the food groups. For example, instead of consuming milk alone, it is best that you mix the milk with cereals or whole grain. Or instead of ordinary milk, use non fat milk instead. The taste are likely the same, the only difference is the benefits that you will get from it.

It is best that your lunch or dinner is composed of seafood. Fish and shellfish are rich in omega 3 and is an effective way of lowering cholesterol levels. It is best that you also minimize your intake of candy bars and cakes because of its high content of fat. Instead of candy bars or cakes, substitute them with fruits or nuts. Fruits and nuts have high fiber content as well as the much needed vitamins and minerals that will help lower the cholesterol levels.

When cooking outdoors or having a picnic, it is best that you substitute steaks with lean meat. Lean meats have lower fat contents than a regular meat mainly because the fat on its center and edges are removed. A slab of lean meat and regular meat tastes the same and is excellent if served with potatoes. It is best to avoid anything fried. Steaming is much healthier because it does not use cooking oil. Regarding chicken, it is advisable that you first remove the skin because of its high content of fat.

Always accompany meals with fruits. Eating salads after each meal is highly recommended. Also, it is best that you add carrots or potatoes on your plate. Always bear in mind that you must have a balance food group. Alternating meat and fish is a good way of having a balanced diet.

Foods can be cooked in various ways. You get some of the healthy cooking recipes on the internet. This way you will know how to cook and prepare foods that are not only healthy but also delicious. And of course, lower your cholesterol level. Television is also another medium in cooking healthy foods. The instructions are much easier to follow because you will be able to see how the meal is prepared.

Remember, its not too late to change your way of consuming food. Living a healthy lifestyle will guarantee you with a much healthier and longer life.

Darrell Miller asked:


Guggul is a natural herb supplement that may help lower cholesterol, yet few in the Western hemisphere know much about it. Guggul is otherwise known as the Mukul myrrh tree, and is a plant of the Burseracae family with small red or pink flowers.

It is found across central Asia over to North Africa, although is very common in the northern areas of India where the climate is more semi-arid than equatorial. Guggul does not like a lot of water and can thrive in ground where the soil has few nutrients. Its Latin name is Commiphora wightii, and it grows about 12 feet high.

It has been predominantly used in the Ayurvedic medicine of ancient India, and like many such ancient remedies and treatments, is now used in modern medicine to treat specific conditions: conditions such as some forms of heart condition, where it has been found to be able to lower your blood cholesterol levels, weight loss and some forms of arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

However, it has been used so successfully over the years, particularly in India, which it is now in danger of extinction and is contained in the Red Data List of the World Conservation Union that lists endangered species. So what is so special about this plant that makes it so popular? To get the answer to that we have to go back a bit in its history, although not quite as far as the two or three thousand years that it is known to have been used in traditional Hindu medicine.

The active ingredient is found in the sap of the tree, and is used to fight against obesity and other diseases that can be caused by excess weight or cholesterol, such as arthritis, obesity and atherosclerosis. Until recently it has had very little support for its claims from conventional medicine. It was in the 1960s that an ancient Sanskrit text was found that recommended guggul as a treatment for high cholesterol levels. Since that discovery, research has focused on the plant’s anti-cholesterol properties, and a great deal of evidence has been gathered supporting the claims of that ancient text.

So much so that the Indian government has approved the use of guggul for the treatment of high cholesterol levels, largely because it has been found very effective in reducing the levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol in the blood while increasing the levels of the beneficial HDL cholesterol. Several trials have supported this, including one study involving 228 patients that showed the extract to be equally as effective as the anti-cholesterol drug clofibrate.

That is not all, and other studies included one in which a decrease in LDL cholesterol of almost 13% was measured in a double blind study involving 61 subjects, of which around half received a placebo. An average 12.7% reduction in LDL cholesterol, 12% in triglycerides and 11.7% in total cholesterol was experienced by the group given the guggul extract. Every 1% drop in total cholesterol is associated with a 2% decrease in the risk of heart disease.

Guggul reduces the levels of harmful cholesterol in your blood by converting it into bile. The plant extract contains substances given the name guggulsterones that block the activity of a protein that regulates the metabolism of cholesterol in your body known as FXR (the Farsenoid X Receptor). This protein can increase the risk of you contracting heart disease by preventing the liver from converting cholesterol into bile acids, so that the concentration of cholesterol in your blood continues to build up.

The problem with bile acids is that once they reach a certain concentration in your body, the FXR comes into play and stops more being produced. Guggulsterones prevent the FXR from doing this, and so helps the liver to destroy more cholesterol. There is a reason for the body not allowing too much bile acid to be generated, but for those with excess cholesterol, it is more beneficial for this regulation to be prevented, and more cholesterol to be destroyed by the liver.

It is the resin of the plant that is prized, being extracted from the bark in much the same way as rubber is tapped. It is also used in fragrances and perfumes in addition to its medicinal uses, and the dosage generally recommended is 1500 mg (1.5 grams) twice daily. However, it is not recommended for those suffering liver disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease or any form of diarrhea, and should not be taken by those on beta blockers.

It is not only for its cholesterol-lowering properties that guggul is prized, however. Another property it possesses is its ability to render blood platelets less sticky, and so reduce the risk of coronary disease, and prevent the formation of blood clots and thrombosis.

Another use it has found is in the field of weight loss, where it has been found effective in reducing the weight of obese adults. It does so by the activation of lipolytic enzymes and increased levels of triiodothyronine (T3), believed to be due to the formation of T3 from T4 (thyroxine) in the liver.

T3 increases the metabolic rate, and the rate of the breakdown of glycogen and gluconeogenesis: the biosynthesis of glucose. It also causes cholesterol to be broken down and increases the rate of lipolysis – the breakdown of fats stored in fat cells in the body. Studies have shown that those taking guggul lost up to 6 times the weight of a control group within 15 days, and the practice is going along with the theory.

Not only that, but when you are on a diet, your body is likely to respond by decreasing levels of triiodothyronine, and so reducing the rate at which fat burns. Hence, your diet does not help you top reduce weight as quickly as it could. Guggul, however, stimulates the production of T3, and so you are not only taking less fat into your body, but are also burning it up at an accelerated rate.

Other uses to which the resin has been put are based upon its anti-inflammatory properties. It has been found to be an effective treatment for some forms of arthritis and also in the treatment of acne. The active inflammatory ingredient is believed to be myrrhanol A, a polypodane-type triterpene, which would also explain the antioxidant effect of guggulipid on lipid peroxidation.

Guggul is a versatile plant, and a good supplement to take for anybody suffering increased lipid or cholesterol levels, and who wants to increase the weigh-loss effect of their diet. However, make sure that you purchase a supplement standardized on its guggulipid content.