What Foods Cause High Cholesterol?

There are actually a lot of things that can cause high cholesterol. This is what makes getting it under control such a difficult task. But beyond the question of what foods increases cholesterol, let's look at some of the other causes of high cholesterol;

Weight - being overweight puts extra strain on your body. Being overweight also makes it harder for your body to properly deal with the cholesterol coming into your system. Studies also show that people who are significantly overweight tend to have higher levels of triglycerides and lower levels of the good cholesterol, HDL.
Low Activity - not being physically active is another way that you could have high cholesterol. People who have a regular exercise routine and get plenty of activity in their lives tend to have higher HDL levels; which is what you want.
Age - as you age cholesterol becomes more of an issue. Cholesterol compounds as an issue so although you might have had high cholesterol problems in your youth you often won't know about it until you get older. Plus, after the age of 30 the human body naturally increases its production of cholesterol, causing higher levels.
Family History - if your parents or grandparents had excess cholesterol levels there is a higher chance that you will too. One of the leading causes of increased cholesterol is genetics. If you don't already know this information it is important to ask questions and find out what some of you family medical history might be.
Diseases - there are some diseases that can lead to high cholesterol. Most often people with thyroid disorders, kidney disease, and other kidney disorders tend to have higher cholesterol levels.

The bottom line is that all of these things can factor into high levels of cholesterol. But the real question should be what foods cause high cholesterol. Food intake; meaning eating foods that are unhealthy, is more of a problem than any of the issues listed above when it comes to the causes of high cholesterol. Knowing what foods cause high cholesterol can also help you to make better choices and get your cholesterol lower.

So, no doubt you are asking; what foods cause high cholesterol?

Saturated Fats- these fats are the very worst for cholesterol. A saturated fat will become hard at room temperature and are mainly from animal based products; like meat, eggs, and dairy. These kinds of fats should only be eaten in moderation. Long term exposure can lead to the hardening of arteries and increased cholesterol levels.
Trans Fats- Trans fats are not only bad for your arteries, they are bad for your overall health. Trans fats are basically synthetic foods. Any time a product has the ingredient of hydrogenated oil you are dealing with a trans fat.

When it comes to what foods cause high cholesterol it is important to read labels. Not all food is going to be obvious about its cholesterol health. So find out how much saturated and trans fats are in the foods you eat and cut back on them.

The author loves to share information on what foods cause high cholesterol to keep your reminded on what foods to avoid to have a healthy heart. To learn more about the relationship between exercise and cholesterol and how it can lower your cholesterol, visit us online and sign up for your FREE mini-course for natural, safe and effective remedies.

Original article

Dietary Cholesterol Is Not the Cause of Heart Disease

Ask anyone about cholesterol and heart disease and they are likely to say that cholesterol in the blood causes fatty deposits to accumulate in the artery, causing the artery to block. A bit like silt accumulating in a pipe. But where did this theory come from?

Back in the 1950's, a doctor called Ancel Keys carried out a research study which looked at the relationship between dietary fat intake and heart disease deaths. His work resulted in him making the front cover of Time magazine, and the government adopted his theory to push a low fat diet solution to the nation.

But the interesting thing is that Keys's study was a fix! It was known as The Seven Nations study, yet his research covered twenty two countries, the data from which showed no correlation between fat consumed and heart deaths. Keys chose to pick only seven countries whose data could be presented as meeting his hypothesis and he ditched the rest. It was scientific fraud! However, the theory had taken hold, gained a life of its own and no one wanted to put the brakes on.

So this wisdom that is pushed by governments, pharmaceutical companies, food companies, agricultural companies and whoever else, is that you will be at a much reduced risk of heart disease if you lower your cholesterol.

This still continues to be the norm, even though much respected research studies have shown that it isn't so. For instance, in 1948, The Framingham Heart Study began, in accordance with the then National Heart Institute. It is still running today and has so far researched over fifteen thousand people over three generations. After twenty two years, it announced that they had found no relation between diet and heart disease. Another twenty seven years of research is done, and in 1997 the Framingham Study announced that they had found no association of dietary fat and heart disease when responding to suggestion that deaths from coronary heart disease had affected data in research on strokes.

One doctor who had involvement in the Framingham Study research(so not just some naysayer!) was Dr George V Mann, a biochemist and physician, maybe this quote from him illustrates why low fat/low cholesterol is still pushed as the answer to heart disease. "The diet-heart hypothesis has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, and yet, for complicated reasons or pride, profit and prejudice, the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fund-raising enterprises, food companies and even governmental agencies. The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century."

Considering the above, what hypothesis should we be looking at? Maybe it should be this...excessive insulin in the bloodstream kick starts a chain reaction of oxidation and inflammation that causes heart disease.

Let's delve into what that really means. Our modern intake of moderate to high amounts of processed carbohydrates, sugars, starches and grains brings forth too much glucose into the bloodstream which needs to be removed by continual surges of insulin which the pancreas sends out.

There's two things to focus on from this. Excessive insulin results in the production of more small, dense LDL particles in the bloodstream. By the way, LDL means "low density lipoprotein," it is what transports cholesterol around the body to fulfil its many functions. The second issue is that LDL is chemically altered by insulin.

The body doesn't like that alteration, it's recognised as unnatural, foreign, so the body sets off an oxidation process to get rid of it. However, the oxidation action causes the walls of arteries to change from smooth to sticky. Oxidised deposits of that LDL stick to the wall of the artery forming plaque and the whole process causes the area around the artery to inflame.

The plaque that accumulates in the wall of the artery has a lipid core which spills into the artery when it ruptures. The resulting blood clot leads to a heart attack.

It's the oxidation of LDL cholesterol(that is produced by the liver, not from food we eat) happening at an excessive level and the arterial inflammation that it produces that is the main cause of coronary heart disease.

If excessive insulin is not present in our bloodstream, then the amount of LDL cholesterol that we have has no relevance to heart disease risk. The impact of diet on heart disease risk is significant, but not in the way that was first presented sixty years ago, the misinformed way that still dominates the health advice that we receive.

The author has an interest in alternatives to medication for treating heart disease. For more information visit Statins Side Effects.

Original article