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Low Cholesterol Foods

Eat Low Cholesterol Foods to Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

It is known that too much cholesterol can damage your health through the risk of heart disease. Excessive cholesterol - that is, more than the body needs for normal body function - can result in a thickening of the arteries, which affects the supply of blood to the heart, and which can cause a heart attack.

The good cholesterol - High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) - helps to eliminate the bad cholesterol- low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) from the blood and thereby reduces the possibility of arteries thickening and clogging..

Our body produces all the cholesterol that we need, but we add to it by eating foods that also contain cholesterol.

Unless we consume the good type of cholesterol we create an imbalance in the blood stream that can lead to heart disease.

We can reduce the risks of a heart attack by making low cholesterol foods part of our daily diet.

High bad cholesterol is mainly found in foods that come from animals, such as, seafood, poultry, fish, meat, egg yolk and diary products. Some of these, such as poultry, fish and eggs, are recognised as providing a healthy diet but the difference in their value as food, is in the quantity we eat each day, and the extent to which they are part of a balanced diet. It is important to regulate the quantity and quality of food we consume each day, to control both cholesterol levels and weight.

Obesity is at a high level, and many people are overweight, but slim and fit people are not necessarily immune from cholesterol related problems either. Weight or age has little influence on cholesterol levels but our diet does.

Our diet should include some low cholesterol foods and some that help raise the level of the good cholesterol as well. Foods such as - cereals, vegetables and fruits, and all those that contain unsaturated fats. Try to substitute healthy low cholesterol foods for those high in saturated fats, ensuring that you maintain a balanced diet.

Your doctor is the best person to consult to establish your own ideal cholesterol level,  and what low cholesterol foods are suitable for your age, weight and state of health. Reducing the bad cholesterol and optimising good cholesterol will improve your chances of a happy, healthy life with the minimum risks of heart diseases.