All About Good Cholesterol, Bad Cholesterol And Trans Fat
All About Good Cholesterol, Bad Cholesterol And Trans Fat
Hello all!!
We are what we eat. The body’s fitness level, stamina, the glow of the skin and every other physical aspect of good health completely depends on what goes inside us. But there are always misconceptions in the fitness arena and I have found several misconceptions when it comes to fat consumption.
I may call it good luck or good timing that I found something wonderful and worth sharing from the papers recently. It changed the point of view I had for saturated fats and cholesterol. I knew that good cholesterol is needed by the body but didn’t know what it exactly did. According to the article, cholesterol and saturated fats make our cell membranes strong and firm. If there would be no cholesterol in our bodies, we would look like a blob of jelly. Imagine!! We wouldn’t exist if this vital nutrient didn’t exist inside us!
You must have heard people say “Don’t eat this!!!!!!!!! It will increase your cholesterol!!.” And all this is said without knowing that there are two types of cholesterol LDL and HDL. One kind of cholesterol is good for us and the other one is bad. LDL is the ‘bad’ cholesterol whereas HDL is good.
LDL can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain and can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. It can cause a heart attack or a stroke. Hmmm dangerous!!
Now let us talk about the good guy, HDL. High levels of HDL in the blood can actually protect the body from a heart attack.
Food source that boost good cholesterol:
- Nuts like walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, peanuts, and hazelnuts are all good sources of heart-healthy fats.
- Good old beans and lentils are HDL boosters. Now this is why you should listen to what your mother says!
- Oats, yum I love them!
- Garlic and onion (onions preferably raw)
- Oily fish
- Olive oil
- Fruits and veggies with lots of Vitamin C and E.
- Green tea
Remember you must steer clear of trans-fat. Trans-fat is known to raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. That is not good news guys and girls. If you are wondering what trans fat is, let me tell you that it is made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil. Commercially baked goods such as crackers, cookies, cakes and other fried foods may contain trans fats.
People think that by eating margarine (which is trans fat) instead of butter they are taking the right step towards a healthy diet. This is not true at all. Research shows that some forms of margarine can do worst things for the heart than butter is known to do. Read more about margarine here.
Fast foods like burgers, fries, fried chicken, and tacos should be avoided. They are high in both total fat and saturated fat. Ok ok I know it is easy to preach but difficult to control temptations. But at the end of the day you would love to flaunt your perfect figure rather than eat all wrong stuff and end up with love handles, right? So, go ahead and change your snacking habits and you might just discover a new healthy you!!
Take care!! Stay fit!
P.S – How to reduce bad cholesterol here.
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