Cholesterol lowering tips
Stock up on vitamin E. Scientists have discovered that we have both good (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL) and bad (low density lipoprotein, or LDL) cholesterol running through our blood stream. Consuming 400 international units of vitamin E each day may help keep the bad cholesterol from oxidizing-an internal “rusting” process that causes the cholesterol to harden into arterial plaque, which in turn causes heart disease. Vitamin E also raises the level of good cholesterol.“Taking vitamin E supplements helps prevent the cholesterol in your body form plaguing, so it does less damage,” says Karen E. Burke, M.D., Ph.D., a dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon in New York City who has studied various effects of vitamin E. Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, nuts, and grains, but it would be very difficult to obtain 400 international units daily from diet alone. Be sure to check with your doctor, though before beginning a supplement program.
Eat breakfast every morning. Breakfast skippers tend to have higher cholesterol levels than those who start off their mornings with a bellyful, according to studies. One reason may be that breakfast skippers make up for missing the morning feast by munching on unhealthy snacks later on, suggests John L. Stanton, Ph.D., professor of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Research also shows that those who eat ready-to-eat cereal for breakfast have lower cholesterol levels than those choosing other morning entrees.
Nibble throughout the day. One way to lower your cholesterol is simply to change how often you eat. Research has shown that large meals trigger the release of large amounts of insulin, according to David Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center at St. Michael’s Hospital at the University of Toronto. Insulin release in turn stimulates the production of an enzyme that increases cholesterol production by the liver.
Having smaller, more frequent meals (but not increasing over all calories) may limit insulin release and play a role in cholesterol control and heart disease prevention, speculates Dr. Jenkins.
Add vitamin C to your menu. Other vitamins and minerals also have a beneficial effect on cholesterol. Research by Paul Jacques, Sc.D., an epidemiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, shows that people with diets high in vitamin C tend to have higher HDL levels. Vitamin C is especially beneficial when you get it from fruits and vegetables that also have a cholesterol-lowering fiber call pectin. Pectin surrounds cholesterol and helps transport it out of your digestive system before it gets into your blood. Vitamin C-rich, pectin-rich foods include citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, read more
