Last week we discussed a little about cholesterol (click here to see last week’s tip). Here are some ideas on what to do about it.
There is a misconception about which foods are linked to raising cholesterol. Foods that raise cholesterol are refined carbohydrates like breads, cereals, pastas, desserts and sodas. These foods raise insulin levels causing damage to artery walls. Cholesterol repairs this damage, so the liver manufactures more to “band-aid” the problem areas. Trans fats found in fried foods, potato chips and butter substitute spreads also cause free radical damage that warrants additional cholesterol production.
Antioxidants, essential fatty acids and red yeast rice are products that can help in addition to changing the diet.
Lastly, total cholesterol levels are comprised of good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol. A simple explanation of each is HDL rises with exercise, LDL rises with refined foods including sugar, total cholesterol is calculated by adding HDL, LDL and 1 other factor . Looking at all of these measurements is a better indicator of a problem versus only considering just total cholesterol.