Understanding Cholesterol and Controlling It

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The key to good Cholesterol levels is healthy eating. It is really not that difficult to do and can become second nature to you with determination. First let’s learn what cholesterol is and what it can do to your body. Our body does need some cholesterol but it usually takes care of making what it needs internally. In other words, your body doesn’t need our help in providing it with cholesterol. When we do that, we hurt ourselves. We actually need to concentrate on lowering the amount of cholesterol in our blood to help prevent heart and blood vessel disease. We are able to understand how to control cholesterol when we understand how to control our diet. In order to do these things we need to learn what we are consuming that is a source of cholesterol.

Since we know that plants can’t produce cholesterol in their cells, we can deduct that the main source is an animal byproduct in some form. Examples would be eggs, meats and dairy products. The first thing we need to realize is that our bodies do need these products for other essential nutrients. Our goal should be to cut back on them by eating smaller amounts. Where meats are concerned, it makes good sense and is a fact that meats that contain the most fats are the ones with the most cholesterol. We just need to stop and use our heads. Think!! Beef and pork supply the most fats. Next in line, and in the middle spectrum, we have poultry. With the skin removed, poultry is a better choice than beef and pork. The better choice is fish because it provides little fat and thus less cholesterol. Again, Think!! At the end of this article we will see a list of hints on foods, prepartions, and other tips for lowering cholesterol.


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Since we are on the subject of heart and blood vessel disease, let’s talk a little about fats. Just as our bodies do need some cholesterol, our bodies do need some fats. Our body will store fats to fuel our mucsles and organs. It uses some fats more efficiently than others. There are two forms of fats we must learn about. Saturated fats and unsaturated fats. The better choice is unsaturated fats. This is the one that our body utilizes the best. Unsaturated fats (sometimes referred to as nonhydrogenated) come in liquid form when at room temperature. Examples are liquid cooking oils or liquid shortening and liquid margarine. The ones we need to cut way back on are the saturated fats. Saturated fats (sometimes referred to as hygrogentated) comes in solid form at room temperature. Examples include lard, shortening and most butters and margarines. In the middle of the spectrum are the fats classified as partially hygrogentated. These fall somewhere in the middle. They are a better choice than saturated but not better than unsaturated.

What are some of the things that we can do to control the cholesterol and fats in our diets? First we need to purchase the right products. Choose the ones with less fat content and choose the right fat to cook with. Just think of the possibility of controling your weight as you do this.

You have purchased a good choice of beef or pork (only 5 or 6 ozs. a day is recommended). You carefully chose the cut which was well trimmed and had minimal marbling. The proper method of preparation is very important. Avoid frying and bake or broil instead. Place the meats in a pan with a rack to allow the fats to drip to the pan and not stay on the meat. Remember, your better choice might have been chicken, fish or even turkey. These can be easily broiled, grilled or baked also and are much lower in fat and cholesterol.

When it comes to dairy products we should try to use low fat products. Check the label on the margarine. Buy the one that has one gram or less of saturated fat per spoonful. Your better choice may be the liquid margarine (check the label).

We are so fortunate to have all the choices we have. There is lite this and low-fat that. Non fat this and skimmed that. We have all these choices in milk, creamers, margarines, mayonaise, salad dressing, salad oils, cheese and ice cream. When we need to use eggs, try egg substitute especially when using them to cook with.

Now that your mind has been corroded with all this knowledge, put it to good use. Controling cholesterol is actually very easy and a major step in maintaining a healthy heart. You only need to read food labels and practice good cooking habits. Do your family a favor, help them to stay healthy. You take control of their eating habits teaching them the proper way to eat in order to prevent heart disease. If you practice these tips, you will maintain a healthy weight and stand a great chance of losing that extra weight you or a family member has been wanting to shed.

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