The key cause of heart diseases as the doctors suggest is cholesterol. High cholesterol level in the blood can not only lead to heart attacks but also several weight problems.

Let us first understand what this cholesterol is - It is a waxy fat-like substance naturally made in the liver of our body. Though cholesterol holds a thorough 'bad guy image,' surprisingly it serves many vital functions for our healthy living.

Basically, cholesterol is of two types:

i. Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL
ii. High-Density Lipoprotein or HDL

Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL

1. It is the actual bad guy. It is this type of cholesterol that clogs the blood vessels leading to increased risks of heart attack and other heart diseases.

2. The researchers have now proved that diet comprising of highly saturated fats increase the level of LDL cholesterol in our body, though it is only a dietary cause for the same.

High-Density Lipoprotein or HDL

This is 'the good man' or to be more specific, the favorable type of cholesterol.
1. It clears 'the bag guy' that is the LDL cholesterol from our blood stream, thereby, reducing the risk of all heart ailments.

2. Researches have shown that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables along with average levels of omega-3 from fish oil greatly helps raise HDL cholesterol levels.

While diet is the major cause of rising cholesterol levels in the bloodstream, the experts suggest that there are several other factors as well that trigger this problem in the human body. These factors are as follows:

i. Genetics
ii. No physical activities
iii. Obesity
iv. Unhealthy lifestyle for instance excessive smoking & drinking
v. Hormones
vi. Varying high & low cholesterol levels

Healthy Cholesterol Diet

As cholesterol is becoming a common health problem across the globe now, the experts suggest that individuals over 20 years old must be rather concerned about the cholesterol levels in their blood. Hence they are suggested to do all that is possible to lower the LDL cholesterol in their body.

While it may not be easy to follow the actual requisites in totality, the experts say that this problem can be combated with the consumption of proper diet.

Low cholesterol level can surely ensure less or no risk of heart ailments and for that you need a very controlled and regulated low cholesterol diet, yet this being a hard nut to crack it is rather simpler to take the right foods along with knowing the effective cholesterol formulas.

Some easy tips on perfect cholesterol free diet are as follows:

1. Low cholesterol diet primarily includes the following:
i. Grains - Mainly whole grain products & cereals
ii. Fish rich in the element called Omega3, like Salmon and Tuna
iii. Fruits & leafy vegetables
iv. Nuts
v. Juices, etc.

2. Visit your physician prior to initializing any low cholesterol diets. This would help you gauge through the improvements of changes in your health.

3. Replace the saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats in chicken, meat, & whole milk products.

4. Try to avoid pastas, sugary, sugar coated foods and the bakery products as they contain refined carbohydrates that add to your cholesterol levels.

5. While eating out, opt for boiled or steamed food preparations.

6. If possible, pick out lean fish, meat and skinless chicken that are baked, broiled, steamed, grilled, poached, etc., that is anything except fried.

7. Focus more towards vegetable side dishes & fresh fruit desserts.

8. Try avoiding margarine, eggs and butter in your regular diet.

9. Prefer using natural-based oils for instance corn, vegetable, olive, etc. while cooking in place of your usual cooking oil.

10. Add lots of garlic while cooking your food. It lowers the HDL cholesterol level tremendously.

11. All plenty of high quality vitamin & mineral supplements in your diet like Vitamin E that improves blood circulation; Vitamin C & Vitamin B3 that lower the high cholesterol levels, etc.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Abhishek_Agarwal