Diets & Meal Plans
Healthy Food Items that Help Lower Cholesterol Levels
Wondering how to naturally lower LDL levels? Well, you should first know that cholesterol is an essential substance which helps the human body to build cells. It travels through the blood on proteins which are called lipoproteins. These proteins are classified into LDL or Low-density lipoprotein and HDL or High-density lipoprotein. HDL or good cholesterol absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver, excess of which is flushed out of the body. On the other hand, LDL or bad cholesterol make up most of the body’s cholesterol. When our body has LDL in excess, it can build up on walls of blood vessels, making it narrow. These narrow blood vessels blocks flow of blood to and from the heart, thus causing a heart attack. A lesser known fact is that HDL can lower risk for heart disease and stroke. The LDL particle concentrations are typically categorized by percentiles and the optimal range is 0 – 20% in adults. What causes LDL? Cholesterol is vital to the human body, and hence it is produced naturally. But there are some foods that can only increase the LDL level, more than the body actually requires. Unhealthy food habits or a diet rich in saturated and trans fats, lack of physical activities, exposure to smoking and excess weight are the main reasons for high cholesterol levels.