Tag: Polyunsaturated Fats

Diets For Good Cholesterol-Mother Nature Can Help

We were made to be able to get all the nutrients we need right out of the ground. When it comes to finding diets for good cholesterol you have to look no further that what is available from Mother Nature.

Diets for good cholesterol don’t have to be expensive to make or difficult to prepare, all you need to do is learn to incorporate several key ingredients into as many meals as you can.

These foods are naturally good at helping you get your good cholesterol levels high, your bad levels low and keeping them that way.

Make a list and the next time you go to the grocery store stock up on these things. You can find many recipes that will include one or more of these items or you can just switch out some recipes that you currently have and add these foods instead.

Here you go:

1. Beans. These little wonders are a great source of protein and fiber and they can even help you raise your good levels and lower your bad levels.

2. Salmon. This fish along with others like tuna, sardines and herrings, can also provide a lot of omega 3 acids. This is a great ingredient to help you maintain a healthy heart.

According to the American Heart Association you should eat at least 2 servings of fish per week.

3. Brown rice. Brown rice can provide a high protein low fat alternative to other side dishes. Another benefit of brown rice? It is a great source of fiber too.

4. Apples. You know the whole “apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, turns out that that is true! Apples have pectin which is a soluble fiber that can decrease the bad cholesterol in the blood stream.

5. Nuts. Many types of nuts are loaded with polyunsaturated fats which can help reduce cholesterol levels. Some of the best are hazel nuts, almonds and walnuts.

Remember though, that nuts are high in fat so you don’t want to eat too much of them. Limit your intake to a cup a day.

It is true, too much of a good thing can be bad.

6. Various fruits that are high in antioxidants are a great addition to your diet too. They taste great and can be added to many types of recipes. Blueberries are one example.

Of course, it’s not just about what you eat, it’s also about what you do. It is important that you move your body and get some exercise.

Many people seem to have a bit of a block when it comes to exercise. They seem to think that it will be hard but that doesn’t have to be the case.

You can, and should, start small. Simple changes can make a big difference. Just start taking your dog for a walk every day, for example.

Park a little further away from the store or your office to force yourself walk.

As you can see, there are some simple changes you can make to help you get your cholesterol levels in check. There are many diets for good cholesterol, just find the one that works best for you.

Fish Oil For The Heart

It seems that a lot of research and studies are showing how effective fish oil is in helping improve our heart conditions. Studies in Denmark showed that fish oil could reduce heart attacks by 50 %. While the Journal of American Medical Association published a report from Harvard School of Public Health that states that women who consume fish with higher Omega-3 fatty acid lessens their risk of incurring any heart disease.

These evidences show us how good Omega-3 fatty acid is to our body. This would actually improve our life and lengthen our life span. High contents of Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring and anchovies. They have docosahexaenoic acid or DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA which have anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant effects.

Omega-3 fatty acid belongs to the polyunsaturated fats, along with omega-6 fatty acid. Omega- 6 acid come mainly from vegetable oil. Omega-6 oils can also provide the body with heart and health benefits, but too much is also bad for the body. Omega-3 fatty acids do not only help in heart issues, but also support brain development.

EPA and DHA are very important to our body. But the body does not produce Omega-3 fatty acid. We have to get the nutrients from our food. Omega-3 acids are called or referred to as building blocks of the body. They help the brain and vision development, not only for children but for adults as well.

Italian researchers actually say that consuming about 1 gram of Omega-3 per day would show significant effects on reducing heart attacks. A gram of Omega-3 fatty acid can be present in a medium sized serving of salmon.

How do these acids exactly reduce heart attack risks?

They reduce triglyceride levels. Triglycerides come from fats of the food that we eat and calories not digested. In excessive amount, tryglycerides can cause coronary heart disease. They are just like cholesterol, they block the arteries and these can lead to heart attacks.

Aside from that they can also stabilise irregular heart beat. It can lower blood pressure and increase the level of good cholesterol. They also have anti-inflammatory characteristics. They are also anti-coagulant which means they make sure that they platelets do not stick together are clot. These clotted platelets can also block the arteries and the blood flow. You call this Thrombosis.

But according to a research led by Dr. Jochen Senges of the University of Heidelberg, the risk for a second attack among patients who used recommended medications compared with those who are using fish oil has no significant difference. It just show how important it is to avoid getting any heart attack in the first place.

You can take fish oil supplement or eat a lot of fatty fish but if you do not combine them with a healthy heart diet, still it is going to be useless. A healthy heart diet would include high fiber food like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and nuts. Aside from eating fish, eating good quality protein products like lean poultry, non-fat dairy, and other products that does not contain saturated fat or trans fat.

Fish oil is not a magic pill which can transform you immediately into a healthy person just by taking them. Being a healthy person does not only require taking food supplements but also eating properly and healthily.

How Fish Oil Can Benefit Your Health

Fish oils are extracted fats from fish, a concentrated solution of omega-3 EFAs. It is the best source of omega-3 EFAs. You could add more omega-3 EFAs to your diet in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). The richest plant sources of ALA are the leaves and seeds of the perilla plants common in North America, Japan, Korea, China and Vietnam.

Green plants and algae also contain ALA as well as linseed oil. However, fats or oil from fish is considered the most important dietary source of omega-3 EFAs because it has concentrated amounts of the ALA derivatives EPA and DHA. These two nutrients are found almost exclusively in seafood.

Eating fish on a regular basis has its own risk as you are can never be sure if the fish you are eating has no toxins on it such as mercury and PCBs. During the manufacture of fish oils, toxins are eliminated. The supplements are meticulously purified to remove heavy metals such as mercury, lead, PCBs and other toxins as well as to reduce the incidence of rancidity and improve the taste and quality of the fish oil.

These makes fish oils as safe and effective food supplement. A 1-gram fish oil capsule contains about 180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA. An intake of three 1-gram capsules would provide 0.9 gram (900 mg) of EPA and DHA. This means it comply the daily dosage recommended by the American Heart Association. However, you should always bear in mind that fish oil supplements are basically dietary supplements, not drugs.

Studies shows that many people are getting too much of the wrong kinds of fats found in animals (saturated fats) and vegetables (polyunsaturated fats), and need the fish oil to balance the family of fat nutrients. Intake of the wrong kinds of fats should be lowered to total 20 to 30 percent of daily calorie serving while fats found in the oils of certain fish should be appreciably increased.

Fish oil prevents and/or alleviates heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis and migraine, headaches, may be protective against cancer, immune deficiency diseases, kidney disease and others. Fish oils also have two special nutrients that protect the heart and arteries, reduce pain, inflammation and swelling, and protect cell membranes. Omega-3 EFAs found in oily fishes are believed to be essential for the healthy development of brain, retina, and nervous tissue among fetus and infant.

During pregnancy these fatty acids are transferred from the mother’s tissues to the fetus. However, the FDA has strict guidelines on eating fish during pregnancy because of the possibility of mercury or other toxic substances that may contain in fishes and the best solution is to take fish oil as food supplement

Over the past 30 years more than 7,000 scientific studies have provided evidence supporting the effectiveness of fish oil and omega-3 EFAs in the prevention and treatment of our most common diseases. Hundreds of clinical trials support the efficacy of fish oil’s omega-3 essential fatty acids in preventing, mitigating, and remedying an incredible range of health conditions. Some scientific and medical communities however are resisting to these facts and still support pharmacological treatment.

As a traditional dietary supplement that encourages good health, fish oil is a preventive medicine but as a natural alternative to NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other pharmacological and medical treatments, it is complementary medicine.

With all the undergoing studies to prove its affectivity, fish oil is on the threshold of crossing over into traditional Western medicine.