Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Lower Your High Cholesterol With Omega 3

You need tremendous diet control and sometimes depend on a pill in order to maintain your cholesterol level. We are bombarded with commercials every day about different medications which could lower your cholesterol. The main problem I have with so many of them are the list of side effects they mention very fast at the end of the commercial. If possible, I want to get my cholesterol level down to a manageable range with diet. Taking a prescription pill may end up giving me problems in other areas.

While choosing certain foods to lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good, yes there is good cholesterol, the very first food that comes up is oats. Oatmeal consists of soluble fiber. What is good about that? I know I've read it a lot and sort of just skimmed over it. I can now tell you what it does. Soluble fiber will lower your bad cholesterol by soaking up LDL, the bad cholesterol, out of your bloodstream. Eating just 1 1/2 cup of oatmeal per day provides you with 6 grams of fiber. Ideally you need 5 to 10 grams of this fiber per day. Other sources of the soluble fiber are:

kidney beans
apples
pears
barley
prunes

There are other sources out there to help you cut down the LDL in your bloodstream. They can be obtained from omega 3 fatty acids. A great way to get these omega 3 fatty acids to start working in your body is to consume fish. The benefits of getting omega 3 are that they can lower your blood pressure and prevent the formation of clots in your blood. If you want to get your required dosage of omega 3 by eating fish, it is recommended that you eat fish two times a week. Not every type of fish is a good source of omega 3. Salmon, Tuna, Halibut, Mackerel, and sardines are considered to be the best sources of omega 3. In order to get the maximum benefits, it is advisable that you bake or grill your fish, instead of frying it.

There are many other ways of getting omega 3 than eating fish. Eating English walnuts, almonds, and other nuts are also some very good sources. Eating just a handful of nuts per day can do a world of good to the health of your heart. Nuts that are beneficial apart from walnuts and almonds are hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some varieties of pine nuts and pistachio nuts. I know most people who eat nuts, want to eat them salted or some that are sugar coated but they are not the ones you should be eating. Nuts are already high enough in calories, eating salted or sugar coated ones will only increase your weight.

Types of oils that help in reducing your cholesterol and also contain omega 3 are flax seed oil, sunflower seed oil, and canola oil. You can use oils to saute your vegetables, or for adding to recipes. Deep frying in oil destroys some of it's omega 3 benefits so it is better to grill or bake your foods rather than frying them.

It is not an easy task to lower your cholesterol, but sticking to a heart healthy diet consisting of omega 3 foods or supplements, will help you to be successful in achieving your goal. Be sure to let your doctor know if you decide to start taking omega 3 supplements. If you are on blood thinners, you may need your medication adjusted since omega 3 does thin your blood. Take full charge of your life, try to solve some of your health issues or issues of the future by including omega 3 to your diet right now.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/lower-your-high-cholesterol-with-omega-3-5967351.html

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