Lowering Cholesterol By Eating Healthier
Everyone knows that cholesterol is a serious health issue in today's
world. High levels of cholesterol in the blood can lead to a variety of
serious illnesses, including high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
Cholesterol does its damage by causing buildups of plaque to stick to
the interior walls of arteries. This can lead to decreased blood flow,
blood clots and strokes.
Getting cholesterol under control, therefore, is an important part of
any smart health strategy. While there are a number of excellent drugs
on the market for lowering cholesterol, they can have a number of serious
side effects, and in some people they can be quite dangerous to use.
The Natural Approach To Cholesterol
The best strategy, therefore, is to prevent cholesterol problems the
natural way. The best way to prevent high cholesterol, or treat it when
it happens, naturally, is to change your diet to include less fat and
more fiber.
The nutritional approach to lowering cholesterol in the blood is one of
the most effective, and certainly one of the safest. In addition, a diet
designed to lower cholesterol has many other benefits as well. For instance
those people who cut back on the amount of fat in their diet to control
cholesterol levels often find themselves losing weight and gaining muscle
without even trying. That is because cutting fat almost always means a
reduction in calorie intake.
The Importance Of Diet
One of the best ways of lowering cholesterol by eating healthier is
to pay close attention to the fat content of the meats you serve. There
are many excellent lean cuts of meat on the market, and this trend is
likely to continue as more and more people seek to control the amount
of fat and cholesterol in their diets. Even traditionally fatty meats
like pork and beef can be found in lean cuts, so it is important to seek
them out.
In addition, meats can be made even more heart friendly by asking the
butcher at your local supermarket to trim the excess fat before you buy
the meat. After all, you will be trimming that fat at home anyway; why
pay for something you will just throw away. Lowering cholesterol by eating
healthier can mean you save money as well as possibly your life.
Egg substitutes are another key element of lowering cholesterol by eating
healthier. While eggs are rich in a number of important nutrients, including
protein, egg yolks are also loaded with cholesterol. While those with
high cholesterol can still enjoy an occasional omelet, egg substitutes
can provide all the benefits of eggs without the fat and cholesterol.
Fresh fish is another important dietary element for those lowering cholesterol
by eating healthier. Fish is naturally high in protein, and most forms
of fish are very low in fat as well. By adding fish to your diet on a
regular basis, you will be able to lower the fat and cholesterol in your
diet without sacrificing the taste you crave.
In addition, fish also contain vital omega-3 fatty acids. These essential
fatty acids help to lower the levels of cholesterol in the blood, and
it is even thought they may be able to reverse some of the damage done
by cholesterol. The presence of omega-3 fatty acids is but one more reason
that fish is essential to lowering cholesterol by eating healthier.
About Nutrition
| Salmonella In Processed Food Flavor Enhancer |
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Thousands of processed food products have been recalled due to salmonella contamination of a flavor enhancer called hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP. This flavor enhancer is found in a wide variety of processed foods including soups, stews, hot dogs, snack chips and dressings. Although no one has become sick from salmonella-tainted HVP yet, the FDA believes this may become the largest recall ever. The FDA has a list of food brands that may contain the recalled HVP. Salmonella In Processed Food Flavor Enhancer originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 06:26:56. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Cooking Healthy Foods on the Grill |
 What comes to mind when you think about that old grill out in the backyard? Images of your dad wielding a huge spatula, flipping burgers and sliding hot dogs around the grill? Maybe steaks or barbecue ribs on occasional family reunions or summer holidays?
I used to think of the grill as that big greasy black thing on the deck that charred meats and made them totally unhealthy. Then one summer, I learned that it is possible to use a grill and keep foods healthy. My change of heart began when I realized that using the oven in the summer would heat up my kitchen and the whole house. To keep the extra heat out of the kitchen, I decided to try the grill for more than just the occasional hamburger or hot dog. With a bit of research and practice, I realized that grilling could be healthy way to prepare a variety of foods. Which is good to know, because now that spring's almost here, it's almost time to get the grill ready for summer. Photo © Shane Gardner Cooking Healthy Foods on the Grill originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 19:56:43. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Make Meals Healthy and Easy |
 Some days you come home from work and the last thing you want to do is cook a meal. So, do you go to the fast food restaurant and grab something to take home, or maybe order a pizza? That's OK now and then, but most of your meals really need to be healthy. Cooking meals from scratch can be time-consuming, but choosing foods that are easy to cook and buying the right equipment helps to making the process easier. If you find you are relying on fast foods for your family too often read some tips for making healthy and easy meals.
Photo © George Doyle/Getty Images Make Meals Healthy and Easy originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 13:35:15. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Is It Time To Rethink Kids and Snacking? |
 A recent study from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill finds that children are eating more than one-quarter of their calories by snacking. Of course, kids have been eating snacks for a very long time, but now it looks like kids might be getting on average about 168 calories more each day than their parents did when they were young. Over one year's time, those extra daily calories could add up to 17 pounds of fat.What is particularly concerning to me about this study is that kids are eating more junk foods loaded with fat, sodium and sugar. So should you ban between-meal snacks? I don't think so, but it's a good idea to offer healthy low-calorie foods for your kids. Kids and Healthy Snacks Today's Nutrition TipPhoto © Photodisc/Getty Images Is It Time To Rethink Kids and Snacking? originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 06:41:04. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| March is Nutrition Month |
 The American Dietetic Association urges everyone to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.The American Dietetic Association created Nutrition Month in 1973 to promote healthy eating for everyone. Use this month to learn more about nutrition and eating healthy foods. Learn About the Different Food Groups Today's Nutrition TipPhoto © KC/stock.xchng March is Nutrition Month originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 10:35:27. Permalink | Comment | Email this |