How does high cholesterol come about? Sometimes, it’s a predisposition you are born with. It does run in some families, in which case, even more care is necessary to bring it down. It can also be a result of smoking or eating a high fat diet. Lack of exercise and being obese could also see your cholesterol levels spiraling! The reason high cholesterol is a source of worry is the fact that it is, very often, the cause for serious complications like cardiac ailments.

Most people look at a low cholesterol diet as a diet restriction. It is not, in fact so. It just is a healthy diet. It just requires a little bit of tweaking as regards your regular everyday diet. It can also add a lot more variety to your diet if you allow yourself to look around and experiment.

The first rule is to lower the fats in your food. Look at the labels on the supermarket shelves for fat content and pick the lowest. Put in a lot more fruits and vegetables into your cart. Walk past the products that are fried in or contain trans fats. Today, a lot of manufacturers are putting this information on the label. When your problem is high cholesterol, trans fats can be lethal. These are basically partially hydrogenated oils and they are used in so many products because they are supposed to add taste! And it is ubiquitous – you’ll find it in cookies, cakes, potato crisps, etc. When you are in the snacks area, choose baked over fried products.

Try and avoid the “white” refined stuff. Whole grain flour is definitely better that white. Substitute some of the sugary items with dried fruits or use natural sweeteners like honey or molasses. Skim milk is preferable to full-fat milk as is lean meat like chicken and turkey to the regular red meats. Try and poach, boil, broil, saute or bake instead of frying. Choose oils like olive oil which is high in unsaturated fat, which actually helps lower cholesterol levels.

Make mealtimes colorful and appetizing. Just because you’ve cut down on the fat, the meats and the sugar is no occasion to mourn. Dress up whatever you serve so it looks good to eat. Make sure you have large helpings of vegetables and fruit and serve them so they look great. A vinaigrette dressing can spice up a salad. A fruit salad topped with honey and chopped nuts makes a great dessert. So does a fruit ice.

Alcohol and smoking are best avoided. Cut down on the salt you use as well. Do remember to check the labels of all your food items so they are “low” in everything – fats, carbohydrates, calories. If you eat out a lot, choose restaurants that specialize in low fat food. Most of all, don’t be too hard on yourself. Make the lifestyle change slowly but surely. If you cut everything you love out of your life, you’ll hate the new diet. Let yourself get used to it and you’ll find you begin to love it!

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

More information on low cholesterol menus
low cholesterol

www.lowcholesterolmenus.com

Health nutrition from food you eat and drink is your health and strength. What you eat is part of what you are and what you will become. What you choose for a meal has an impact on our body either positively or negatively. The quality of food you take affects the length and quality of your life. Many life threatening diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancers, are often, at least in part, linked to poor nutrition. Much of these diseases could be prevented with sufficient health nutrition intake.

We are often told that we must eat a balanced diet to obtain health nutrition for our wellbeing. However, what is a balanced diet? How do you know you are achieving the correct balance? Many of us do not eat enough healthy carbohydrates. Many of us are unaware of a diet which is very low in fat can cause as much harm to our body as a high-fat diet. Many of us do not know that we eat more protein than we really need, and that too much can be bad for us. Many of us fall short on the daily requirement of vitamins and minerals that our body need.

A perfect diet should contain all needed health nutrition such as carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre, in the right quantities. The WHO suggests at least fifty per cent of calories in our diet should come from complex carbohydrates, no more than thirty five per cent comes from fat and up to fifteen per cent comes from protein. The allowance for alcohol consumption is no more than five per cent.

To get fifty per cent or so of carbohydrates you need to ensure that at every meal you have a good portion of starchy carbohydrates food such as rice, pasta, potatoes, or bread. At most meals, you need good portion of vegetables and/or fruits. You should also include small portion of low- or moderate-fat protein such as fish, poultry, pulses and lean meat in our diets. High-fat protein such cheese, dairy product and fatty meats should be eaten less frequently and in even smaller portions. As all fat is a calorie-dense food, ideally you should include only small quantities of oil such as olive or corn oil in your meals. The majority part of your daily calorie needs have been taken up. There is only little room for alcohol and for the sugars. So, add these to your diet in moderation, if at all.

A variety and a balance intake of health nutrition is the most important element of a healthy diet for life. To ensure adequate amounts of all necessary vitamins, minerals, fat, protein, carbohydrates and fibre, eat as wide a variety of foods as you can. You should eat different sources of carbohydrates, varying types of protein, lots of different vegetables, salads and fruits.

There is no need to worry too much about the exact nutritional content of every morsel of food you eat. The fact is that almost any kind of meal can be adapted to form part of a healthy diet if you follow the abovementioned guidelines.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

Food for Health. Food For Weight Control. Food as Medicine . Everything About Health Nutrition Such As Vital Vitamins, Dietary Minerals, Fibre, Fat and Carbohydrate.

While there are many people overweight or obese people in this world who are looking for a diet plan that works, my grandmother manage to stay slim by following some guidelines in her diet.

This simple weight loss dieting plan aims to achieve three things. It is to reduce the intake of calories, increase the good intake of essential nutrients including protein, vitamins and minerals. Lastly it avoids or reduces the intake of common foods that are often cited with weight gain and certain health problems.

For meat and fish, always choose lean meat and trim off excess fat, remove the skin, and cook by grilling or baking. Ideally have no fried foods. Use stir fry with minimum amount of oil. Use low fat polyunsaturated spread. 2 teaspoons allowed per day. Use 1 teaspoon of oil per day.

Avoid sugar and sweet foods. Bread should be limited to two pieces of bread, white or whole meal. Do not eat bran or foods or breakfast cereals containing it. One portion of white pasta is allowed per day.

Avoid salt and salty food especially if fluid retention is a problem for you, have plenty of fresh fruits. If tinned then drain off the syrup. Eat three pieces of fresh fruit per day. A banana counts as two pieces.

Eat plenty of fresh vegetables daily. Cook in the minimum of water or steam without salt if possible. Allow a total of four cups of coffee or tea per day. No sugar is allowed. Allow four eggs per week. Boiled, poached or scrambled but avoid frying.

Eat regularly, have three meals per day. Always have breakfast. Missing it may cause you to eat more later during the day. Plan your meals for the day or week. Make sure that you can have the right foods in the house or you will end up eating the wrong ones.

If you are hungry between meals, have a snack like a nutritious low calorie one. Convenience foods are high in fat, sugar and calories. Make sure that you have a cooked main meal every day and that it contains plenty of vegetables.

Enjoy your food and eat your main meal with family or friends where possible. Do not eat it while watching the television. Go shopping twice a week to buy fresh fruit and vegetables and never go shopping when you are hungry. Take a list and stick to it.

If necessary, have the occasional cheat. A few small pieces of chocolate after a good meal is not the end of the world or the diet.

Finally, make sure that you do have a very good reason for losing weight. It may be to look better, to feel more comfortable or for a medical reason. In case you don’t know, being seriously overweight is strongly linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes and even some types of cancer.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

To find out more information and reviews of weight loss tips, Low Carb Diets Review and weight loss secrets, please visit Weight Loss Tips

The 5 and 1 weight loss plan in one in which you have 5 Soy based meal replacements and have 1 Lean and Green meal. This plan was designed to give the body the right amount of food to keep it satisfied while losing the weight. Within 2 to 3 days the body enters a mild fat burning state called ketosis. The fat burning state helps the body achieve rapid weight loss while preserving muscle tissue and in addition eliminates physical hunger while providing the body with plenty of energy.

What is a Lean and Green Meal?

This plan includes 5 meal replacements and one Lean and Green meal which includes a lean meat plus 2 cups of salad or 1 ½ cup of cooked vegetables. Lean means 7 ounces of lean chicken, turkey, fish or 5 ounces of beef, pork or lamb.

1. 4 Tips to Follow for the First Few Days

* If you experience hunger or fatigue, have an extra meal replacement shake. It’s better to have and extra shake than to go off the program.

* Stay busy and occupied. Remind your self that you can do anything for 2 to 3 days.

* Avoid tempting sights or smells of food as much as possible.

* Have a Meal Replacement Shake one hour before going a major social event where a lot of food is served. Your body will choose the nutrition in the shake over the food being served.

2. Space Meals Carefully
Eat every 2 to 3 hours. On extra long days have another shake or other meal replacement. It won’t hurt you.

3. Do Not Skip Meals
Skipping meals will decrease your nutrient intake and make weight loss slower, not faster.

4. Eat Slowly
Spend 15 minutes eating a meal. Cut meal replacement bars into small pieces to help slow down eating.

5. Drink Lots of Water
Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water. You may substitute with non caloric beverage like tea, coffee or diet sodas.

6. Limit Caffeine
Limit coffee and caffeinated drinks to three per day. More may cause anxiety or other symptoms due to low calorie meal replacement meals.

7. Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol is metabolized similar to a carbohydrate and will decrease ketosis and slow the weight loss.

8. Do Not Exercise
Do not exercise for the first few weeks of weight loss. Or if currently exercising, decrease it until the body adapts to the plan.

If you follow the steps above you are sure to be successful in attaining your target weight loss goals using meal replacement products.

Article Source: http://www.dietarticles.info

© 2006 Glenn Freiboth is a Certified Health Advisor that lives in Naperville, Illinois and has helped many people lose weight. Weight Loss products and programs can be found at www.GetYouHealth.com