How to Reduce your LDL Cholestrol

LOWER LDL LEVELS

Recently, I was watching a Talk Show, in which a doctor said how many people have chosen to become social drinkers and they have a strong reason for it. Guess what  they say.......
"Red wine is good for heart because it contains polyphenols, which reduces LDL Cholestrol ".
Then , the doctor mentioned that even eggplants contain polyphenol. So, why not eat eggplants instead of red wine ?
That's how, I landed up researching on this topic and have collected some valuable information.

Antioxidants in red wine called polyphenols may help protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart. This polyphenol is called resveratrol .

American Heart Association says that  still researchers are examining the potential benefits of components in red wine such as flavanoids and other antioxidants in reducing heart disease risk. The AHA also says that these components may be found in other fruits such as grapes or red grape juice. The lifestyle is also very important. AHA recommends increased physical activity , a diet  - high in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fats.  They also say that no direct comparison trials have been made to determine the specific effect of wine or other alcohol on the risk of developing heart disease or stroke.

A few interesting food varieties and tips on how to lower your LDL Cholestrol

* EGGPLANTS -  here they come
   Eggplants are high in soluble fiber , high in antioxidants and low in calories.
  They contain cholestrol lowering dietary fiber.

* TEA - a perfect drink 
   Both black tea and Green tea contain powerful antioxidants which be helpful to reduce LDL.
   Green Tea is better because it is made from unfermented tea leaves, and less processed.
   A secret ingredient in tea is Catechins, a type of disease - fighting flavanoid and antioxidant.
   I read in an article in WebMD that tea has 8 to 10 times more of polyphenol than that is found in fruits    and vegetables.

* Dark Chocolate (yummy........)
   It contains flavanoids and antioxidants that help to lower the LDL levels

* Avacados 
   They contain Oleic acid, which helps to lower bad choloestrol

* Nuts

   They are high in polyunsturated fatty acids which helps in reducing LDL levels.
   So, consider eating Walnuts and Almonds as a healthy snack.

* Whole Grains
   Barley, Brown Rice and Oatmeal have lots of soluble fiber, which helps to reduce absorption of      cholestrol in the blood.

* Fish
   Fish varieties like Salmon, Tuna, Sardine, are high in Omega-3 fatty acids which helps in reducing   triglycerides in blood.

* Olive Oil
   This oil is a plant based fat, so it is a better choice when you want to reduce the LDL

* Bean
   Black, Kidney bean  and lentils are rich in soluble fiber,  which helps in reducing cholestrol in the blood.

I will be back with some more healthy tips, until then , Be Healthy..............

Know about Sugar

Hello Readers,
Let's learn some important information about sugar .

How is Sugar made ?

Sugar is made from Sugar Cane and Sugar Beets. The sugarcane stalks are crushed in the mill
to squeeze out the cane juice.The juice is  dark grayish green in colour . This juice is heated to
boiling point and several chemicals are added to remove its dirt and make it pure. The molasses
content is removed , from the juice after refining .


The purified sugar syrup is concentrated to super saturation and repeatedly crystallized in a vaccum
to produce white refined sugar. To produce the granulated sugar, the  sugar is dried by heating it in a rotary dryer(kind of industrial dryer) and then by blowing cool air through it for several days.


Molasses is a thick liquid by-product obtained from the residue after extraction of sugars.
It is rich in carbohydrates, magnesium, copper, iron and B vitamins.

There is only 99% sucrose in white sugar, which gives only  energy but not the nutrients.
In Brown Sugar, the molasses is present and also the other nutrients. It has less calories than white refined sugar.

There are many types of sugar available in the market.
1. White refined sugar
2. Brown sugar
3. Organic sugar,
4. Palm Sugar, etc.

Please choose the right one and also the healthier one .My mom says Palm sugar is healthier.

You should also know an interesting fact about sugar.
The No.1 country in the world producing sugar for 2010-2011 is Brazil and the No.2 is India.

Essential Fatty Acids

All of us will always have a question in our heart about  Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.
So, I thought why not discuss about some important and easy to understand facts about the fatty acids.

There are the Essential Fatty Acids required for our body. But these can't be produced by the the liver.
It has to be produced from the food we eat.

Fatty Acid can be
1. Saturated Fatty Acid
2. Unsaturated Fatty Acid

1. Saturated Fatty Acid -
It increases Cholestrol in blood and causes heart attack, paralysis, etc

2. Unsaturated Fatty Acid -
It is of 2 types - (a) Monounsaturated Fat
                         (b) Polyunsaturated  (It reduces cholestrol)

Polyunsaturated Fat  -  (a) Omega 3
                                    (b) Omega 6   [both are good for health]

Omega 3 

It is available in -
Non - vegetarian food - Fish , mainly Salmon
Vegetarian food -  Onion, Olive Oil, Soya bean, Soya oil, Garlic

It reduces -
(a) reduces LDL Cholestrol
(b) reduces Tryglyceride
(c) increases HDL (good Cholestrol)

It helps to
1. avoid Heart attack
2. avoid Joint pains
3. Reduces Aasthma to some extent
4. Increases memory power

BUT don't take more -------
It will cause the blood to freeze i.e. clot, which will in turn cause thinning of blood vessels. So, will result in heart attack.

Omega 6 
It is found in Sunflower oil, Soya oil, Rice Bran oil.

Don't take more of it , because it will cause
1. Heart attack
2. Joint pains

How much to consume the Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils?

The ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 should be 1:2

I came to know about all these facts from a  t.v. show conducted by a Cardiologist. I thought it would
be good to share these valuable information with my blog readers.

Have a good health .............

AVOCADO AND ITS BENEFITS

 AVOCADO AND ITS HEALTH BENEFITS

 

Avocado grows in an avocado tree. It is an egg-shaped fruit, which originated in Mexico . 

Nutritional Value:

Avocado fruits are 

1. rich in fibre, it has 75%of insoluble fibre and 25% of soluble fibre, 

2. has a  high-fat content of about 23%.

3. rich in Vitamin B, Vitamin E and Vitamin K.

Calorie content in Avocado :

Avocado is a high fat content fruit. After you remove the skin and scoop out the creamy flesh,

100 gms of this creamy pulp is about 215 calories.

Health Benefits:

1. High intake of Avocado, will have a considerable decrease in serum cholestrol levels.

2. It will also decrease the LDL (Bad ) Cholestrol level and Triglyceride level.

3. It will increase the HDL (good cholestrol) levels
4. Its high fibre content helps those who have indigestion and gastric and acidity problems.
5. Its folate content helps in healthy development of healthy muscles and tissue in the body.

 

How much avocado should we eat?
It is recommended that you eat half  a fruit  several times a week.

How to add them to your diet?

1. Scoop out the flesh, mash it well, add jaggery and  eat it as a dessert.

2. Include a few slices of avocado to your salad.

When you taste Avocado for the first time , you may not like it. But, when you eat it regularly,
you will start loving it, which is called acquired taste.

I hope this post is beneficial to all readers especially women. Please post your valuable comments too.

WALNUT AND ITS NUTRITION

WALNUT



How much do we know about walnuts and its nutritional value? Let's see...

Walnuts are the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids, when compared to other nuts. Walnuts are also a best plant sources of protein.

Benefits of eating walnuts:

* It lowers the LDL Cholestrol(Bad Cholestrol) and increases the Good Cholestrol
thus, reducing the risk of coronary heart diseases and heart attacks.

* The fibre content of walnut helps to get rid of constipation problems too.

* Walnuts contains more polyunsaturated fats which help in reducing the fasting insulin levels for type 2 diabetic patients.

Walnuts which taste bitter should not be eaten for a few reasons:

1. They will taste bitter when they are not fresh
2. It also indicates oxidation has occured . If you smell an odour like paint, that means walnut is oxidised or rancid(smell or taste due to decomposition or chemical change)

Storage:

Store shelled walnuts in air tight containers in refridgerator (upto 6 months) or in freezer for 1 year.

How to cultivate the habbit of eating walnut :

Easiest way of adding walnuts to your diet which i do are:
1. Add chopped walnuts to the cereal
2. Add chopped walnut to the cake mix or muffin mix, before baking
3. Eat it as a snack, thus avoiding junk food

How much walnuts can we / should we eat per day?
5 walnuts per day
a quarter cup provides 90.8 % of the daily value for essential fats

Bonus recipe:)

1 cup - cauliflower washed and steamed
5 to 6 - whole walnut (broken into pieces)
1 tsp - olive oil
salt and pepper - to taste
1tbsp - split roastedgram powder


Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl and, it is ready to eat. This is very healthy and also delicious for kids and elders as well.

Think Healthy and Live Healthy!

How to increase your HDL(good cholestrol)

How to increase the good cholestrol also known as HDL Level?
OR
How to prevent any heart disease and live healthy?

What does HDL Cholestrol do in our body?

HDL or GOOD Cholestrol cleans the excess cholestrol from the walls of blood vessels. This excess cholestrol might cause a coronary artery disease. Doctors say that , HDL levels below 40mg/DL increases the risk of coronary artery disease. the HDL level greater than 60mg/DL is considered good and protects people from heart disease.

So, let us see some ways in which we can increase the HDL Cholestrol level .

** Excercise
Do simple exercise such as walking or jogging, for atleast 1/2 hour at a time.

** Reducing Weight
Reduce your weight if, your excess weight is in your abdominal area.

** Reduce intake of trans fat
Look out for the nutrition label in each pack of food you buy and look for partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, to reduce trans fat in your diet.

For example :

1. Use liquid vegetable oils and soft margarines in place of hard margarine or shortening.
2. Limit cakes, cookies, crackers, pastries, pies, muffins, doughnuts and French fries made with partially hydrogenated or saturated fats.

** Increase the monounsaturated fats in your diet
Canola oil, Olive oil or Avacado oil and also fats in peanut butter contain monounsaturated fats.

** Increase intake of fibre content
Include oats, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and legumes.

** Increase intake of omega-3 fatty acid
Include Salmon, Walnut, Flax seeds, in your diet. this increases HDL Cholestrol level.

Very useful tips

Here are some useful tips:

We all know that cucumbers are very good for health.
Before using them in a salad or any recipe, cut both ends of the cucumber.
Then, sprinkle a dash of salt on the cut pieces. Rub them to the cut ends of the cucumber.



This will remove any unwanted bitter taste of the cucumber. I have heard elders saying that,
if a snake or insect crawls over the growing cucumber, its taste will be bitter. But I do not know, how far its true.

Here's another tip -

How to avoid scrubbing the tea pan (vessel to prepare tea)

First, pour the required amount of water to the pan and switch on the stove.
Then, add the required amount of sugar . then, add the tea dust, flavourings, milk, etc.
Prepare tea in the normal way, but follow the sequence. Remember ... Water and Sugar hold
the first place .
When you inspect the pan, while washing it, you need not scrub at all. Nothing much will stick
to the bottom of the pan. And it will be easy to wash.

Try these tips and also share yours. Comments are welcome.

LOW GLYCHEMIC INDEX FOOD

This is a continuation of the Glychemic index food:

Here is a list of some low, medium and high GI food, for your good health :

BEVERAGES :
Low : Soy Milk, Apple juice, Carrot juice, Pinneapple juice, Orange juice, Grapefruit juice .

BREADS :
Low : Multi Grain Bread and Whole Grain Bread

Medium : Pizza, Ham Burger Bun, Rye Flour Bread, Whole Meal Bread

High : White bread, White Roll, Baguette

BREAKFAST CEREALS :

Low : All Bran cereal and non - instant porridge

Medium : Oat bran, muesli,
High : Rice crispies, Cornflakes

CEREAL GRAINS

Low : Pearl Barley, Rye,Parboiled rice, cracked barley,

Medium : brown rice, white rice , barley flakes

DAIRY PRODUCTS :

Low : Low fat yogurt, Whole milk, Chocolate milk, fat free milk, skimmed and semi skimmed milk

FRUITS

Low : Cherries, Grapefruit, dried apricots, pears, apples, grapes, orange , kiwi fruit, banana

Medium : Mangoes, Apricots, Raisins, Pineapple

High : Watermelon

PASTA

Low : protein enriched spaghetti, vermicelli, whole wheat spaghetti, macaroni

Medium : durum wheat spaghetti, macaroni cheese

High : Brown rice pasta

ROOT VEGETABLES :

Low : Cooked Carrots, Yam, Sweet Potato

Medium : boiled, mashed, steamed potato

High : Microwaved potato

SNACK FOOD and SWEETS

Low : Peanuts, Jams and marmalades

Medium : Popcorn

High : Corn chips, Jelly beans, Dates, Pretzels

VEGETABLE AND BEANS :

Low : Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cucumber, Egg Plant, Celery, Green Beans, Lettuce, Snow peas, Spinach, tomatoes, Soya beans, Peas, Kidney beans, chick peas, black eyed beans

Hope these are useful for everybody

GLYCEMIC INDEX

Do we all know about Glycemic Index?

What is Glycemic Index?

This index tells you how much of your blood glucose increases after eating. High glycemic index foods increase the blood glucose level.People who intake high GI foods, will have more body fat, as measured by the Body Mass Index (BMI) and thereby result in having heart disease, diabetes, obesity.


Let's see some high GI foods, which include many carbohydrates :

* Rice

* White Bread

* Pasta

* Bakery Products

* Cereals with low fibre content


It is always better to be safe and choose some low GI food products such as :

* Fruits

* Vegetables

* Legumes

* Whole grains


Always choose unprocessed food like Oatmeal, Barley porridge,Corn, whole wheat flour,brown rice, etc

Avoid refined food(refined grains) such as white flour, white bread, white rice,etc.

We shall see some low GI food in the next post under this heading.........

Flax Seeds - how much should one intake daily?

Flax Seeds

This is a continuation of the previous blogpost on Flax seeds- Women Health.


I think, many people, including myself, want to know how much flax seeds should be consumed per day.

Here is the information:

* Take 2 to 4 tbsp ground flax seeds daily


* Sprinkle the ground flax seeds on cereal, or yogurt or salads.


* When we prepare potato patties (Indian Cutlets)add the ground flax seeds into the potato mixture before cooking the patties.


* It can be added to vegetable patties, chicken kababs, mutton kababs as well.


* They can be added to wheat flour before preparing chapathi dough (Indian Flat Bread).

* Can be add to bread flour or cookie dough as well.

Remember not to deep fry any food when flax seed is an ingredient .

Let's all benefit from this nutritious flax seed.

Women's Health - Weight Loss

WEIGHT LOSS

Every women would like to be slim. Then, we should find out easy ways to lose weight .

Some easy ways are :

* Fast Walk for atleast 30 minutes every morning or evening.
* Reducing intake of food that is deep fried in oil.
* Avoiding intake of junk foods.
* Eating healthy food, which has high fibre content, good fat, etc.
* Slow Walk for atleast 10 to 15 minutes after dinner.
* Sleep only upto 7 hours.

We all might know the above. But, DO WE FOLLOW THEM?????

Under this topic, we will see about food rich in fibre, omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamins, Folic acid, etc.

First and foremost, i thought to tell you all about FLAX SEEDS.

This is how Flax Seeds looks like:



Nutrtional Value of Flax Seeds:

1. It is very low in Carbohydrates
2. High in healthy fat and fibre content
3. High in Omega-3 Fatty acids , which is found in Salmon(cold water fish)and also Walnuts.
4. It is high in antioxidants, which helps to balance the hormone levels in females.
5. It helps in reducing the bad cholestrol level.

Now, after reading this , you will feel like including flax seed in your daily course of food.

The best way of including flax seeds is, through bread and cereal. In the market, we get Bread loaves which have flax seeds added to their ingredients.
All you need to do is to just look at the Nutrtional Facts portion on the package, before buying.