Good cholesterol foods

godfather25 | Mar 7, 2010 |

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Good cholesterol foods are important to incorporate into our diets to promote a healthy lifestyle. We're all familiar of bad levels of cholesterol, and what it does to our health. Bad cholesterol foods containing LDL is bad for our health. However, there are also good cholesterol foods that are needed in the body. Good cholesterol is known as HDL cholesterol. Low HDL can result in many different health risks. To raise HDL levels and lower LDL levels, requires incorporating better foods into your diet.

Getting good cholesterol into your diet can help eliminate high LDL cholesterol levels in your body. When cholesterol gets into your arteries, it causes cardiovascular health problems and reduces oxygen and blood flow. When bad cholesterol clots blood in the arteries it can lead to strokes and heart diseases. HDL takes cholesterol back to your liver. HDL cholesterol has the reverse effects that LDL cholesterol has on your body. Bad cholesterol causes high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases in the body that result from clogged arteries. Good cholesterol foods can help lower cardiovascular disease risks and help keep bad cholesterol away from your arteries.

Good cholesterol foods are just one way to raise good levels of cholesterol in your body. Avoiding substances like smoking, and excessive drinking of alcohol will help raise good levels of cholesterol. Maintaining your weight and getting daily exercise is important to maintaining your cholesterol levels. Exercise to promote cardio health can include treadmills, running, walking, swimming, aerobics, and biking.

When it comes to foods that cause high levels of LDL cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats combined can cause an increasing risk of coronary diseases. Foods high in saturated fats, usually contain a large amount of cholesterol. A lot of red meats and animal foods contain large amount of bad cholesterol. Dairy products can and processed foods can be high in bad cholesterol.

There are a lot of good cholesterol foods to add into your diet. Although a high amount of alcohol raises bad cholesterol, drinking alcohol moderately can actually raise good levels of cholesterol according to some studies. This has been debated by experts, but according to some, drinking 2 glasses of wine, or beers a day can protect you from heart disease. Red wine contains a high amount of antioxidants that can raise good cholesterol levels. The anti-aging antioxidant called resveratrol raises good HDL levels. Resveratrol can be found in red skin grapes and peanuts, too.

Getting a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids can contribute to raising higher levels of HDL cholesterol. Foods high in omega-3 are good cholesterol foods to eat. Omega-3 is known to protect the heart from diseases, helps lower bad cholesterol levels, and lowers high blood pressure as well. Omega-3 fatty acids can largely be found in fish, like cod, tuna, and salmon. Walnuts, green leaf vegetables, and strawberries contain omega-3 fatty acids.

Drinking green tea helps protect the body, boost the immune system, and provides a rich amount of antioxidants to help raise good levels of cholesterol. Green tea protects the cardiovascular from diseases, prevents diabetes, and lowers high blood pressure. A lot of antioxidants can contribute to raising good levels of cholesterol. Eating a large amount of green leaf vegetables, legumes, herbs, spices, and fruits can all contribute to raising good levels of cholesterol.

Applying a Mediterranean diet is the best way to raise good levels of cholesterol. The Mediterranean diet tends to focus more on monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, instead of foods high in saturated fats and trans fats. Nuts like macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, pecans, and walnuts raise good levels of cholesterol.

To determine if your levels of HDL cholesterol levels are too low, you'll need to be tested by a doctor. 60 milligrams per deciliter, or higher is considered good. If you're under 40, then it's not high enough to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. You'll need to eat more good cholesterol foods into your diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle.