Most of us over a certain age realize that if we allow arterial plaque to buildup in our arteries we putting ourselves at serious risk for heart attack or stroke. But yet heart attack and stroke always rank in the top 5 when it comes to causes of death, far outpacing a condition like diabetes and nosing out many types of cancer.
So if we know arterial plaque accumulation in our arteries is a killer, and cholesterol is its primary building block, why are so many of us still falling victim?
Meat Loaf
Certainly the foods we consume have to be at the top of the list but it is not always from lack of trying to eat a heart healthy diet. Sure sometimes we fall off of the old heart healthy wagon and consume foods we shouldn't. But more often than not I believe it is a case of trying to eat healthy and either not paying attention to labels or just being fooled.
That's right fooled! And believe me getting fooled is not all this hard, especially if the item is on sale or gives the impression that it might be healthy.
Some quick facts
Generally speaking to actually reverse existing arterial and cholesterol deposits one needs to only get about 7 percent (16 grams) of their daily calories from saturated fat. Cholesterol should be held down to no more than 200 milligrams per day. But it is saturated fat that seems to boost cholesterol and blood fat levels more than anything else.
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Now let's move on to how we might get snookered even though we might be trying to do all the right things. I will be using myself as an example.
As you may know trying to find a healthy solution that everyone likes can be quite challenging at times. Nevertheless, there are many low cholesterol options that have duel advantages. For instance salmon and tuna are both low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Research tells us that not only do these heart healthy food not raise cholesterol levels but may actually reduce instead. Many fruits, vegetables, and whole grains such as broccoli, beans, fruit pulp, flax, oats, and apples also have duel advantages.
I always try to buy some of the above options on my weekly shopping trip but the truth of the matter is that fish and vegetables can get a little boring after a while causing me to look for other healthy options at a reasonable price.
This was the case on my last shopping trip when I spotted ground turkey on sale. I thought that would be perfect for the heart healthy meat loaf I have been planning to make. After all the label clearly stated that this 16 oz package contained 50 percent less fat than USDA data for regular ground beef. I also splurged and bought tartar sauce for the fish, and a bag of multigrain chips for snacking.
Let's take each of these three items and see how I did. My sale priced ground turkey contained 26 percent saturated fat, tartar sauce 8 percent, and my chips 6 percent. Neither the chips or the tartar sauce made any claims about having less fat so I knew that I was splurging, but the ground turkey which was giving the impression that it was a heart healthy choice was much worse than the other two combined.
The basic premise of achieving heart healthy blood cholesterol levels is a simple one, and that is to not eat more cholesterol than your body can process. Certainly with the ground turkey in my basket I have violated this simple premise, not because I wanted to but because the labeling caused me to make a bad choice.
There are examples just like this all over your favorite grocery store. The bottom line is if you are going to conquer cholesterol, and reduce your chances of having a heart attack or stroke, paying close attention to labeling is one of the most important aspects, right alongside that of staying active.
Simplifying Cholesterol - Fooled Again!
Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic consumer advocate for natural health and natural living with over 10 years experience in the field.
To learn more about cholesterol along with a list of safe and effective natural cholesterol reduction supplements Click Here
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