Healthy cholesterol levels

Measures to lower the blood cholesterol level

1.     Take a proper diet. Take food that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol such as fruits, vegetables, skinless poultry, lean meat, fish, rice, cereals, and vegetable oil.

2.     Maintain an appropriate weight.

3.     Exercise accordingly as advised by your doctor.

4.     If the cholesterol levels do not reach the minimum goal despite this measure, then doctor may put the patient on medication to lower cholesterol.

Vegetarian recipes

Benefits of being vegetarian

Human beings who eat exclusively a vegetarian-fruit diet for many decades infrequently have the diseases so commonly observed in meat eaters. Diseases very uncommon in vegetarians include : 

1. coronary artery disease (heart attack and angina), 

1. hypertension (high blood pressure), 

1. breast cancer, 

1. colon cancer and possibly cancer

1. prostate gland, 

1. obesity, 

1. peptic ulcer, 

1. diverticulitis and osteoporosis, 

1. gall stone, 

1. kidney stone. 

1. Bowel syndrome etc.

Saturated Fats

What is a saturated fat?

Any fat that solidifies in room temperature is a saturated fat. The saturated fat can be identified by its being solid at room temperature; the polyunsaturated and menstruated fats are fats are soft or liquid at room temperature. All three fatty acids are very high in calorie. The average American adult consumes a diet containing nearly 40% of the calories from fat, one third of which is of the saturated variety.

A reduction of the percent of calories from fat from 40% to 10% can reduce the blood cholesterol level around 150 mg/dl. This level can only be achieved by those who strictly follow the vegetarian diet. The diet of the Japanese historically has consisted of a 10% of calories from fat diet and significant ischaemic heart disease has seldom been observed. Today Japanese are consuming a diet averaging approximately 23% of calories from fat and the consequences have been a significant increase in the frequency of heart attack. Thus for diets to be very effective in lowering the blood total and LDL cholesterol levels, the percentage of calories from fat must be reduced to 20% and ideally 10%.

Types of fat

Saturated fat: Increases total and LDL cholesterol level, so, high risk.

a.      beef fat

b.     mutton fat

c.     egg yolk

d.     palm kernel oil

e.      coconut oil

Monounsaturated oil: Either lower or have a neutral effect on the total cholesterol level, so, no risk.

a.      olive oil

b.     peanut oil

Polyunsaturated oil: Decreases the total and LDL cholesterol level, so, no risk and the best oil to consume.

a.      Soyabean oil

b.     Corn oil

c.     Safflower oil

d.     Cottonseed oil

e.      Fish oil

f.       Sesame oil

Good Cholesterol

Cholesterol and heart problem

Cholesterol is a complex fatty substance produced by the liver for various functions in the body. The cholesterol in our food also contributes to the cholesterol level in our body. An excess of cholesterol results in the deposition of cholesterol in the arteries resulting in narrowing and hardening of he arteries called atherosclerosis (blockage). Too much cholesterol can slowly build up on the inner walls of arteries feeding the heart. Together with other substances, cholesterol forms plaque (early blockage) a thick bard coating that gradually clogs the artery over time. Cholesterol in the blood is carried in two main forms, low density lipoprotein (LDL) or band cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is called bad cholesterol as it is associated with blockage formation and HDL cholesterol is called good cholesterol as it is thought to remove excess LDL (bad cholesterol) from blood. The only absolute, unequivocal, independent atherosclerotic (blockage formation) is an elevated blood level of total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol, a low HDL cholesterol level or both. What constitutes an elevated total cholesterol level is debated. If an elevated level is that minimal level above which atherosclerotic events occur, then that level would be approximately 150 mg/dl. The risk of getting heart disease substantially increases above the level of 200 mg/dl. Framingham study clearly demonstrated that higher total cholesterol or LDL Level and the lower HDL cholesterol levels are predisposing factors for the heart attack. International epidemiologic studies have shown that populations with blood cholesterol levels less than 150 mg/dl for decades have a near absence of angina or heart attack. A certain critical blood level of total cholesterol is necessary before a block approximately 150 mg/dl. As the level increases above this value, the risk of an atherosclerotic event (angina or heart attack) increases roughly proportional to the level and to the amount of time that this level has been present.

To keep a normal cholesterol level normal and to return an elevated level to normal, dietary intake of cholesterol, fat and total calories must be restricted or one or more lipid-lowering drugs must be administered or both. The average adult in the United States consumes approximately 500 mg of cholesterol daily. Nearly 50% of the direct cholesterol consumed by adults in the United States comes from the visible and no visible eggs eaten, so giving up eggs eliminates nearly half of the direct cholesterol intake. Bovine muscle (beef) accounts for nearly 30% of our direct cholesterol intake, so giving up flesh beef, mutton eliminates about one third of our direct cholesterol intake. Bovine products (butter, ghee, cheese etc) contain high amount of bad cholesterol, so they should be eliminated from the daily food. Most adults in the United States consume more than 100 gm of fat daily. Ideally men should consume no more than 60 gm and women no more than 50 gm of fat daily. There are two problems with the fat: 1. all fats possess a saturated component  2. all fats are high in calories. Saturated fat are dangerous for heart patients and their presence in the food must be curtailed.