What is cholesterol and how to lower it naturally?
Cholesterol is one of the most vitally important substances found in the body, it is found in every cell in the body. It is essential for health. Without cholesterol your body wouldn’t work, cholesterol is a precursor for other hormones, like oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. It is an important part of the cell membranes and the nervous system. It is important in the utilization of Vitamin D, which we need to utilize calcium for bone health. The body makes cholesterol because it needs it. But if your cholesterol is too high then that’s when problems may arise. When it’s too high it can cause plaque to build up in the arteries, now imagine a hose pipe with some dirt blocking the tube, you turn on the water but the flow is very slow. So you set about cleaning out that pipe and next time you turn on the water you have a much better, stronger flow of water. Well it’s the same when your arteries are blocked, your blood wont flow very well through them.
Despite what we have been told over the last 4 or 5 decades, what we eat has very little effect on our cholesterol levels. One of the biggest misconceptions is that we get our cholesterol from our food, we don’t, we make about 75% of it ourselves, what we eat only contributes to 25%. Saturated fats have been blamed for decades for causing high cholesterol when in fact they serve an important role in building cell membranes, converting beta carotene into vitamin A, mineral absorption and many others factors. Going back forty years or more, fat has been misidentified as the culprit behind heart disease, when all along it’s been sugar. A high-sugar diet is a far greater risk for heart disease than fats. A high sugar diet promotes metabolic syndrome — a cluster of health conditions that includes high blood pressure, insulin and leptin resistance, high triglycerides, and liver dysfunction, all of which are a far greater risk to your health than high cholesterol.
Bottom line is we need cholesterol, but how can we lower it, if it’s too high? Diet is important and just because I said what you eat only affects our cholesterol in a small way, what you eat will affect your overall health. So a diet that includes, nuts and seeds like Flaxseed and Chia Seeds, oily fish, avocado, coconut oil, olive oil etc for all your essential fats. Wholegrain foods and foods high in soluble fibre like oats, barley, beetroot, green tea, beans and lentils. Include more beans and lentils in your diet, make bean based soups, toss beans and lentils into salads, or swap them for meat in pasta dishes. No excuses you can easily add these foods into your everyday diet. Limit red meat to once or twice per week, eat, lamb, chicken, turkey. Get rid of or at least reduce, processed foods, including processed breakfast cereals, these are so high in sugar and cakes, biscuits, and pastries, these contain trans fats and loads of sugar. Trans fats are fats that have been altered, their shape has been changed, the body doesn't recognise them so they can’t be processed properly, and will damage your arteries. Limit coffee and alcohol, they say one glass of red wine per day is good for your heart and if you smoke consider quitting. Supplements do help too and one of the best products I get results with is One Nutrition CheckChol. CheckChol can help to lower your cholesterol in just 2 to 3 weeks.
Stress is one of the major causes of high cholesterol and exercise is one the best ways to reduce stress. High cholesterol is a symptom of a stressed, undernourished, overworked body. So do yourself a favour and take a look at your diet and lifestyle, consider where you need to make changes, and implement them slowly one by one until they become the normal.
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