My children have always said I have no food in the home. The reason is; I only have healthy foods.
If they want to eat chocolates, pastries, chips, cookies, ice cream and other high-saturated fat, low nutrient foods, they can buy them themselves. Needless to say, they didn’t invite their buddies over for snacks. The real reason is I find these foods irresistible, and if they were in my cupboards, I would binge on them every night. Much too tempting. I also wouldn’t be setting a good example for healthy eating habits. It’s easier to keep these foods out of reach than to exercise willpower all the time. A recent study from Cornell University showed that this is true. When chocolates are either visible and within view, women eat more than if chocolates were not visible and out of reach.
There are many ways to lower your cholesterol levels:
· Avoid or limit foods high in:
. saturated fats: high fat meat cuts, butter, full-fat dairy products, poultry skin and coconut and palm oils:
. trans fats: in cookies, crackers, fast foods and processed foods;
. cholesterol: eggs (more than 3 per week) and organ meats
· Replace saturated fats from animal products with mono and polyunsaturated fats from plant oils;
· Increase intake of fatty fishes;
· Increase soluble fiber intake from high fiber foods;
· Lose weight if you carry excess pounds;
· Keep up your aerobic activity;
· Quit smoking.
We hear about the importance of keeping our cholesterol levels low. We hear of ways to lower our cholesterol levels. Yet we don’t follow any advice. Why is that? Warnings are everywhere.
The results of the European Attitudes Survey on Cardiovascular Treatment, presented at the 5th International Symposium on Multiple Risk Factors (MRF) in Cardiovascular Disease in Venice, showed that people are apathetic about the seriousness of cholesterol as a risk factor for heart disease. Look around you; I think they have a point.
In the December 1, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a study concluded that people with normal serum
cholesterol, blood pressure, and no smoking are at lower risk for
heart disease and live 6 to 10 years longer than people with all
three risk factors. Sounds good: living longer and healthier.
Now for triglycerides, another important blood fat, also known as “that long word I can’t remember.”
Triglycerides are fats made by the body or made directly from foods. These fats circulate in the blood along with cholesterol and other fats. They form the bulk of fatty tissue on your body. You can feel it around your waist and hips. Lowering triglyceride levels are particularly important if you’re at risk for diabetes mellitus.
You can lower your triglyceride levels by following the cholesterol guidelines.
· Reduce weight
· Replace refined starches (sweetened cereals, white bread, pasta and rice) and sugars (sweets) with high-fiber starches (whole wheat and whole grain cereals, breads, pasta and rice).
· Replace saturated with unsaturated fats
· Stay active
· Avoid alcohol
