We live in a society where we have more of the wrong kinds of foods available to us in more places than any other society on earth. Cakes, pies, candy, soda, heavy gravy meals and such all contribute to a difficult diet for our bodies to deal with. It is no wonder that we have an epidemic of people who have too much of the wrong type of cholesterol in their bodies. All you have to do is study what people eat, and you have your answer.
Oatmeal is a great food to eat in order to lower your bad cholesterol. This is the low-density lipoprotein, or LDL. Too much of that and you begin to clog up. Oatmeal is a soluble fiber which means that it turns into a liquid mass that soaks up the LDL cholesterol like a sponge, and carries it on out of our bodies through the digestive system.
Soluble fiber actually reduces the cholesterol that is absorbed into your bloodstream. This is very helpful, as you don't have to take harsh cholesterol medication now, to reduce your cholesterol. Other foods that are good soluble fiber are kidney beans, apples, barley, pears, and prunes.
If you eat fatty fish like salmon, trout, this can also help to reduce the LDL cholesterol in our systems. It has high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids which reduces our blood pressure and reduces the chances of forming blood clots. Supplements that contain Omega-3 fatty acids can be taken as well to supply this needed ingredient.
If you eat a handful of nuts, such as almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachio nuts, and walnuts, you will also get a good supply of Omega 3 fatty acids. Nuts, however, are high in calories, so just a handful a day will do, and you will reap good benefits from that.
Such a lot of good sense there Caring Lady - and the photograph made my mouth water. That information is relevant to the whole population but, unfortunately not quite enough for the estimated one family in every five hundred who have inherited a faulty gene and have FH (Familial Hypercholesterolaemia). However much they exercise and how ever careful they are with their diets, the build up of cholesterol in their bodies - that starts at birth, continues throughout their lives and they need intervention to prevent an early death from a cardiac arrest or stroke.
In layman's terms, as it was described to me by an eminent consultant in this field of medicine:
Our body needs cholesterol and makes enough of the "good" stuff (HDL) for our needs. This is taken around our body and deposited in every cell. When it is used up, the remaining, now "bad" cholesterol (LDL) is returned to our liver for disposal. In a healthy person there would be "two hands, with five fingers each", to grab this bad stuff and throw it out. In people with FH, they don't have ten fingers and, depending on how badly they have inherited their condition, depends how many "fingers" are missing. In turn, this depends how much of the LDL is then recirculated in their body - and that is what builds up in arteries and causes heart attacks.
So - everyone out there - do all follow Caring Lady's advice but, if you have a family history of people suffering heart attacks or strokes at an early age then consult your doctor for a blood test or contact HEART UK - the cholesterol charity - for advice. This is especially relevant to any woman who experiences a heart attack before the menopause, as women without FH are protected until that time.
That reminds me I must buy some soluble fibre products and top up my cod liver oil tablets. And it’s so handy the pharmacy chain owner of web MD has a load of offers on these products this week.
Stimulate social media discussion to increase web traffic - tick
Backup on line media campaign with in store discounts - tick
Quarterly sales? It is the end of march…..
I hope a suitable donation has been made to the charity that provides the platform to target customers so accurately.
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