Foods High In Cholesterol and the Great Shellfish Debate - Many medical professionals will tell you that shellfish are definitely on the NO list for anyone who has high levels of cholesterol in their blood. But the debate goes on as to whether it is the cholesterol in the foods that we eat that gives us high cholesterol or is it our diet high in saturated fats that does the harm.
Most Doctors now agree however that increasing your levels of HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol can be beneficial in reducing your chances of heart failure, heart attacks and the likelihood of suffering a stroke.
One research team based in Israel discovered that people who ate avocados everyday for twelve weeks made big reductions on their LDL cholesterol levels. They further established that it was the high levels of mono-saturated fats in Avocados that played a major factor in reducing these LDL cholesterol levels.
A research team based within the University of Kentucky at their College of Medicine discovered that LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol can be reduced by up to twenty per cent just by eating a daily dose of cooked beans. They found that even just a cup full of beans a day was sufficient to give good results. Lentils, chick peas and even my favourite tinned baked beans all help to boost your HDL cholesterol levels (although may add to air pollution !!).
For people who have been diagnosed to have high levels of LDL cholesterol in their blood, possibly the best addition to their diet has to be oats. Oats contain a fibre called beta glucans. This has been proved to adhere to the inside walls of your intestines and this blocks the LDL cholesterol from being absorbed into the blood stream. It can also boost HDL levels.
The Omega 3 fatty acids found in oily fish have the effect of boosting HDL levels. The most common fish with these benefits are Herrings, Mackerel, Trout and Salmon. Shellfish, although being one of the foods high in cholesterol, has been proved not to raise your levels of LDL cholesterol significantly.
New research by the University of California has shown that LDL cholesterol can be stopped from oxidising by using Olive oil in your diet. The Olive oil prevents the bad cholesterol from sticking to the artery walls.
Anti-social as some people may think, eating raw garlic and raw onions are proved to reduce bad cholesterol and improve good cholesterol. A study in Seattle at the Bastyr College proved that eating garlic every day, 3 cloves, found good cholesterol up by 23% and bad cholesterol down by 7%. Harvard Medical School found similar results with eating half of an onion a day. They found that good cholesterol levels had increased by up to 30%. In both studies they found that cooking both onions and garlic dramatically reduced their powers.
Both Green and Black teas, with or without caffeine can also improve your cholesterol levels. Flavanoids, a type of antioxidant is proved to help the body to control cholesterol with just two or three cups of it a day.
Another good source of antioxidants is red wine. this works in a similar way to Olive oil as in it stops the bad cholesterol from oxidising and sticking to the artery walls. Excess alcohol however, can increase blood pressure and may also lead to liver problems.
A new study in America has added new thinking to the Shellfish debate. They maintain that shellfish, especially Mussels, Clams and Oysters actually boost levels of good HDL cholesterol.
So the debate continues about Foods High in Cholesterol.
