Last week I found out I had really high LDL cholesterol. I've been doing a lot of reading and researching trying to find out how to lower my LDL cholesterol. Here's some things I've found out:
- There's a lot of miss-information on the Internet
- Some good sites are Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association
- There are plenty of guidelines on how to lower your cholesterol naturally, mostly through diet
- It can get pretty confusing
The main thing I've found out so far is that I need to stay away from saturated fats and trans fats in order to lower LDL cholesterol. I also found out they seem to be in a lot of the things I like (well, cookies, candy, ice cream and brownies at least).
I also found out I'm already doing a few things right. I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast and I add ground flaxseed to it. I also get a fair amount of exercise. Things I don't do that I should: eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day- not even close.
There does seem to be a consensis about certain foods that have proven to lower LDL cholesterol:
- Oatmeal and oat bran
- Flaxseed
- Omega-3 fatty acids and fish
- Nuts
- Olive oil
So far I've added daily omega-3 supplements and olive oil to my oatmeal and flaxseed - not at the same time of course. I'm working on the nuts. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of nuts so I'm going to try to use them in salads and maybe work up to eating them whole.
One thing that was stressed by all the sources on LDL cholesterol: you must watch your calorie intake because these foods can be high in calories even though they are good for you.
I've started keeping a food journal at Lance Armstrong's website Livestrong.com called the Daily Plate. It's a free application that keeps track of what you eat daily. It stores your information so you can refer back if you want. It's easy to look up foods and I believe they have everything listed. It's been a great help for me so far.
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Tags: how to lower ldl, ldl cholesterol, lower your cholesterol natrually