Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Lowering Cholesterol Naturally by Consuming Fiber-Rich Food

There are many things you can do to start lowering cholesterol naturally but you need to consider a change of lifestyle and eating habits. For instance, if you're used to frequent fast food chains and eat junk food, you should stop from doing so and start eating healthy. Having too much fast food can significantly increase the bad cholesterol in your body because of their unhealthy ingredients. Instead, you should start eating more foods that are rich in fiber.
Fiber can lower blood cholesterol by reducing the amount of bile reabsorbed in your intestines. You see, when fiber interferes with the absorption of bile in your intestines, the bile becomes excreted in your feces. The liver then produces more bile salts to make up for the previous loss of bile. Your body uses cholesterol to produce bile salts. Hence, your liver produces more LDL receptors to acquire the necessary cholesterol to produce more bile salts.
Such receptors are responsible for getting rid of cholesterol out of the LDL molecules in your bloodstream. Because of this, more bile salts are produced from your liver if more LDL cholesterol is pulled from your blood. Lowering cholesterol naturally is indeed possible by increasing your intake of fiber. In fact, researchers have proven that a five- to ten-gram increase in soluble fiber intake can reduce LDL cholesterol by about five percent.
Some of the fiber-rich food you can find in your local grocery store are oatmeal, oat bran, barley, and pysillium. These food products are actually rich in beta glucan which is a soluble form of fiber. They can lower your LDL and total cholesterol. Other food that are rich in fiber are fruits, cereals, nuts, and green vegetables. You should also have more legumes such as lentils, peas, and dried beans.
You may also intake supplements that contain fiber. Keep in mind that fiber binds to cholesterol. If you do not have enough fiber in your body, the cholesterol will not easily be expelled. This could build up and lead to unpleasant circumstances such as fatal diseases.
Whole grains are also ideal. Lowering cholesterol naturally can be achieved by swapping white bread for whole wheat bread. You should also swap all your carbohydrate-rich food including rice for whole grains since they are healthier. Instead of eating white rice, you should eat brown rice. While the refined grains that you have probably been used to eating contain iron and B vitamins, they do not contain fiber.


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