Diet To Help Reduce Cholesterol

Diet To Help Reduce Cholesterol

Diet To Help Reduce Cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors of heart disease, and heart disease is the number one cause of death among Americans. It is therefore extremely important to understand how to lower LDL cholesterol, or bad cholesterol, to help prevent heart disease. Making dietary changes, eliminating certain foods and including a variety of heart healthy foods, can reduce cholesterol levels dramatically.

Why It Is Important to Reduce Cholesterol Levels to Prevent Heart Disease

It is never too late to begin a cholesterol lowering diet plan, even if already on medication. If left on its own, an excess of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream, known as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, will begin settling along artery walls. Eventually, as more and more LDL cholesterol forms a build-up, known as plaque, the arteries begin to harden, and the pathway for blood flow narrows.

This condition, known as atherosclerosis, increases the amount of energy the heart has to use to pump oxygen-rich blood through the body while at the same time limiting the amount and efficiency of blood reaching the heart. In severe cases, an artery becomes completely blocked off, causing chest pains; a heart attack occurs when an entire portion of the heart is not receiving blood.