The harm of cholesterol.

The prevailing opinion in scientific circles is that high blood cholesterol directly contributes to clogged arteries and thus leads to myocardial infarctions and strokes, according to Pannochka, an online publication for girls and women aged 14 to 35.. net Among the inhabitants of those countries where, on average, the content of cholesterol in the blood is low, coronary heart disease is rare.

Where does blood cholesterol come from?.

There are two types of food that supplies our blood with cholesterol: those that already contain cholesterol and those that contain “saturated” fats, which are mostly animal fats..

Four food groups contribute to the formation of high blood cholesterol levels:.

• cholesterol content is very high in egg yolks and offal (liver, kidneys);

• a lot of saturated fat and a lot of cholesterol in beef, lamb, pork and processed meats;

• high in saturated fats in all dairy products, except for low fat ones, in particular, high in butterfat in cream and sour cream.

• Coconut oil, palm oil, and foods that contain hardened or hydrogenated vegetable oils are high in saturated fats..

What to do.

Actually, don't make it your goal to make dietary changes so quickly.. After all, if unhealthy habits develop throughout life, then you can wait a year or two to gradually unlearn them..

Set yourself the task of gradually giving up animal foods and accustoming yourself to plant foods.. You may have to look for new recipes, but as a result, you will save not only money, but also health.!

What specifically needs to be done?

• Limit your intake of egg yolks to three per week..

• Liver and other offal eat no more than once a month.

• Eat fewer or no foods like smoked sausage, sausages..

• Eat less meat (instead of red meat, cook protein-rich vegetable meals, fish, chicken, or turkey several times a week).

• Eat less cheese (choose cheeses made from non-whole milk and low-fat cottage cheese).

• Drink less whole milk (switch to low-fat milk first, and when you get used to its taste, switch to skim milk).

• Less cream and sour cream.

• Try not to eat butter (switch to some diet margarine).

• Reduce the use of solid fats (read the labels on all processed foods). Do not buy a product if hydrogenated or hardened oil is listed first among the fat components on the product label.. As for, for example, margarines, it is better those on which liquid vegetable oil is indicated as the first component..

Avoid saturated fat:.

• Lard (lard) • Meat fat • Butter.

• Hydrogenated butter and vegetable oils • Rendered fat from meat • Hardened vegetable oils Children and cholesterol.

If a child constantly eats sausages, fried foods, ice cream, store-bought cakes, pastries and other fatty foods, then in his youth, by the age of twenty, the development of coronary heart disease may begin..

• Parents need to ensure that children do not eat a lot of fatty foods. We want to give you advice: as soon as the child is one year old, give him skim milk.

Types of cholesterol.

In pre-menopausal women and in healthy and vigorous men (and these are usually thin, non-smokers, and exercisers), most of the cholesterol in the blood may be of a beneficial type, the so-called high-density lipoprotein (HDL) - cholesterol.

This type of cholesterol helps the body get rid of the so-called low-density lipoprotein (LDL) - cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein), which causes clogging of the arteries..

So, the next time you will determine the level of cholesterol in the blood, ask to do an analysis "

Relatively high HDL values \u200b\u200b(above 60 in men and 75 in women) indicate better health than low values \u200b\u200b(40-50 and below). And the best thing is to constantly monitor the level of cholesterol, and then it is not so important what types of lipoproteins it consists of..

A 7-year study found that the risk of myocardial infarction in middle-aged men was reduced by 2% for a 1% reduction in total blood cholesterol levels..

Foods that lower blood cholesterol.

Recently, scientists have found that certain substances found in natural foods can actually help lower cholesterol levels.. One of these substances is “guar gum”, which is found in beans and oats..

Other - pectin in apples and citrus pulp. Some researchers claim that other substances from natural foods have such properties..

But there is no evidence that a protective effect can be obtained by introducing lecithin, garlic or vitamins into the diet, just as it has not been proven that the lecithin that is found in eggs protects against the cholesterol present in the same eggs, and in large quantities..

Dalasyuk R. , Kampat L. , Shevchuk T.

medbe. en.