It is vital to understand why cholesterol can be dangerous before looking at a list of foods that lower it – after all, wouldn’t you rather know HOW we know which foods help lower cholesterol, than just a long list of ingredients?
High cholesterol is not dangerous by itself – only in a specific condition it becomes harmful; by understanding this, you can get to the root of the issue – and resolve it.
The condition is when free radicals come in contact with LDL cholesterol – causing the LDL cholesterol to oxidize. Free radicals are unstable atoms – which bond with any nearby cell’s atom – causing the cell it bonded with, to become a free radical itself – making this a chain reaction.
When LDL cholesterol is oxidized, it stimulates white blood cells which capture any foreign cells and particles in the blood – this causes foam cells to form – which are designed to clean out the area; a toxic effect is then created causing inflammation and clotting processes to activate within the artery walls – hence slowly increasing blood pressure (because of plague built up in the arteries) and reducing blood circulation (which can cause stroke or heart attack).
So, how do you lower cholesterol with just a list of foods?
The key is to stop free radical damage in the body – to disarm free radicals, you need antioxidants; not just any antioxidant – it must be FAT SOLUABLE. Taking a 1000mg of vitamin C (an antioxidant) will not help your cholesterol because Vitamin C is a water soluble antioxidant, not a fat soluble one which can stabilize oxidized cells (cells are made from lipids, which are fats).
The fat soluble antioxidants are as follows; along with the list of foods that have the highest concentrations of each:
– Astaxanthin (pink stuff found in Salmon – better taken in supplement form)
– Zeaxanthin(found in Kale, Chard, Spinach – best in raw form)
– Vitamin E(Asparagus, Avocado, Egg, Milk, Nuts, Spinach, Olive oil)
– Beta-Carotene(Peppers, Lettuce, Kale, Spinach)
– Coenzyme Q10(Red meats – liver, heart – cooking them too much can reduce the amount)
– Vitamin B6 – Niacin is a water soluable vitamin, but thanks to its flushing side effect, it is one of the most powerful supplements that can be taken to instantly lower cholesterol.
Is a list of foods really enough to lower cholesterol and improve your health dramatically? What about the damage already caused?
Taking antioxidant rich foods is powerful if you completely transform your diet and increase your intake of the above foods. However, to tackle this issue with full force you MUST do other things – like taking a food supplement.
Adding an antioxidant supplement to your diet will allow you to eat more concentrations of the antioxidants you need to actually reverse the damage already caused – yes, your body is powerful, and eating the right foods will get you a long way, but it may not be enough to reverse the damage already caused by free radicals – for that, you need an exercise program where you exercise 3-4 times a week; and at least for 30 minutes constantly where you are out of breath – what this does is push the blood to your extremities and increase general circulation, allowing faster and more than usual detox of the body, including plague build up.
One must understand that combining exercise with proper super-antioxidant supplementation is important to get the necessary benefits.