Heart Health
The Truth About Cholesterol
This may surprise you, but cholesterol is not bad for you.
In fact, cholesterol is a normal, healthy component of every cell in your body and is essential to produce much needed hormones. There are two main forms of cholesterol: (HDL) and (LDL). HDL is the ‘good’ cholesterol and actually helps lower your risk of developing heart disease. While, LDL is the ‘bad’ cholesterol and when too much of this form of cholesterol is in the blood, it can clog up your arteries, increasing your risk of heart attack and/or stroke.
Do you remember being told that eggs are bad for cholesterol?
Many years ago it was discovered that high cholesterol increased your risk for heart disease. This triggered numerous health warnings to avoid foods naturally rich in cholesterol, like eggs. What we now know is that blood cholesterol levels go up for many different reasons, not just from eating foods which naturally contain cholesterol. Eggs are in fact a highly nutritious food, containing a good source of protein, omega-3 and vitamins and minerals, making them a healthy addition to a balanced diet. So eggs are not as bad as they’re “cracked” up to be.
“Cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of death in Australia, with one person dying from it every ten minutes.”
- Doing regular exercise can reduce your risk of heart disease, as it makes your heart work more effectively.
- Eat foods high in the good fats such as avocados, nuts and oily fish.
- Reduce foods high in ‘bad’ trans fats, including processed biscuits, cakes, take away and fried food.
- Lose weight. Being overweight raises your cholesterol and blood pressure.
- Include foods high in soluble fibre, such as oat bran, soybeans and baked beans. These foods may reduce your risk of heart disease.
Along with a healthy lifestyle and diet, there are many nutritional supplements that have been shown to be very effective at maintaining healthy cholesterol. Talk to us today and discover your options.