After my family physician insisted that I begin to take Lipitor for my high cholesterol, I became determined to lower my cholesterol naturally, without the aid of prescription drugs.

Here are a few simple tweaks I made to my diet to do so:

1. Breakfast: Instead of a bagel and cream cheese, I opted for oatmeal and an apple.

Why does this work?

It works because both oatmeal and apples contain soluble fiber, which help me to lower my cholesterol– the bad kind, that is (otherwise known as LDL cholesterol). Soluble fiber also reduces the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream. All it takes is 5 to 10 grams (or more!) a day to reduce your total and LDL cholesterol levels. There are 5 grams of fiber in one medium apple. 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal has 6 grams of fiber– so I reach my daily quota by breakfast time alone!

See, little tweaks make a big difference. Let’s continue, shall we? (more…)

Often, when we hear about our cholesterol levels, we automatically assume that this is a bad thing. High cholesterol is a well known cause of a variety of heart diseases and cancers and has gained a reputation as a killer. But the good cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol is essential if we are to remain healthy. If we do not know how to increase good cholesterol naturally, then we are setting ourselves up for a number of health problems.

What this HDL cholesterol does is that it stays in the bloodstream; essentially lining the blood vessels and disposing of the bad, or LDL, cholesterol. It would, therefore, be unhealthy to remove all cholesterol from your body, whilst also being practically impossible! The healthiest option is to ensure that you retain the HDL cholesterol by reducing the amount of LDL cholesterol that you have in your body. (more…)

Lowering LDL Cholesterol, also known as the bad cholesterol, is certainly important, as many people are in the pursuit to do just that. However, increasing HDL Cholesterol, the good cholesterol, is also imperative for a healthy body. When HDL cholesterol is at an increased level, it significantly lowers the risk of heart disease. There are considerable ways to increase good cholesterol naturally.

Eating right is an important factor when it comes to good and bad cholesterol levels. Avoid foods that contain saturated fat and especially trans fat. According to many doctors, trans fat, is by far, the worst. Trans fat lowers HDL and increases LDL. Most fast food restaurants use vegetable oil that contain trans fat. Other sources of trans fat are; packaged foods, cakes, cookies, donuts, margarine, chips, pizza, ice cream, ready made frozen meals, and other processed foods. Intake of these foods should be limited. Reading the labels on food products at the grocery store should be put into practice. These labels will tell whether or not they contain any saturated or trans fat and how much. (more…)

3 simple steps can give you correct cholesterol levels. Cholesterol comes in different types–although all cholesterol is fat produced by your liver. It is necessary for life. When it gets out of balance you can suffer–life-threatening consequences.

Step 1) Know what your correct cholesterol levels should be and that there are different types of cholesterols — LDL & HDL

Start testing your cholesterol — if you have no risk factors–men at aged 40, for women–aged 50.

If you do have any risk factors, ask your doctor what your correct cholesterol levels should be and when you should start to have them tested. Testing you cholesterol will help you to understand the steps needed to maintain correct cholesterol levels.

Step 2) Understand the the difference between foods that have cholesterol — (like eggs, meat and milk products) and many times can be eaten with little or no increase in your cholesterol levels.

And foods that raise cholesterol — (like hydrogenated vegetable, Palm and Coconut oils). These types of fats are found in fast food & prepackaged snack foods. Know as saturated fats–they RAISE Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) (more…)