Cholesterol

Me mother has slightly high cholesterol and I was wondering what foods help lower this and what she should and shouldn't be eating!

Tue. Mar 4, 6:10pm

Hi, its important that you know the HDL and LDL values so you can tell the difference between the good and bad binded cholesterol.

My wife has "high cholesterol" but it's all hdl and her plaque build up is that of someone who is 10 years younger than her. I on the other hand, have always had extremely low choleterol and it turns out that a lack of the HDL in my blood allowed plaque buildup that essentially makes me older than I am.

Every 1% reduction in your cholesterol level lowers your risk 2%.
Each increase of 1 mg/dL (not percent) of your good cholesterol decreases your risk 2-3%.

In general, a high fiber diet is good at lowering your bad cholesterol.... vegetables, bean, legumes, grains.

Eating certain fatty fish such as salmon can increase the hdl or good cholesterol in your system and of course reducing saturated fats, such as those found in meats and dairy products can reduce the amount of bad cholesterol.

If she really wants to know where she stands, her doc can order a scan of her neck that will let her know exactly how much plaque buildup she has.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008, 9:59 PM

in addition to diet, she should add exercise, (if not already a part of her daily regimin) to help lower cholesterol as well.

as far as food goes, here are some suggestions:
oatmeal/oats & whole grains. barley, flax seeds (found in cereals and bars), olive oil, garlic, lots of fiber! (from fruits, vegetables, and grains - cereal is a great source, "Optimum Power Breakfast w/ Blueberries" is one of my favorites), & salmon.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008, 10:14 AM

oh, forgot to mention what she should avoid.

saturated fats (like from red meat), white/processed grains (pasta, white breads, white rice).. cream! butter, [white] sugar, (ease off the sweets as well!)

sometimes just eliminating a certian food will lower the cholesterol -
for my friend, it was the bagel and cream cheese she had every morning.
for my husbnad, it was his bowl of ice cream for dessert every night - we switched to a low carb icecream topped with grape nuts or a low fat yogurt with fresh fruits/berries on a Omega-3 loaded Flax & anitoxident Waffle - its one of his favorites. (really!)

Link

Wednesday, March 05, 2008, 10:46 AM

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