Working to promote healthy cholesterol? It’s a goal that crosses many preconceived expectations—it may not be because of past buttery diets or weight, some people just need to work against their genetic predisposition.
No longer do we talk of cutting cholesterol, because it plays a pretty important role in our bodies, in the creation of needed hormones, bile, & more, plays an important role at the cellular level, and in nerve conduction.
Instead, we talk about promoting “good” HDL cholesterol and lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Where does cholesterol come from? All animal derived foods. That doesn’t automatically mean you need to go vegan to have healthy cholesterol, and in fact vegans need to worry about their cholesterol levels too!
If you’re not already following the diet plan of a doctor or nutritionist, the rule to follow is eat healthfully.
Lots of bright fruits and veggies, lots of fiber, and lean protein. Accompanied by heart and cardiovascular strengthening exercise, and most people will be good to go.
If you’re trying to get a hold on your cholesterol levels, though, you absolutely need to avoid processed foods. Trans fat, in particular, raises LDL cholesterol and lowers HDL—the opposite of what you want. The sometimes sneaky presence of trans fat in foods (remember to read ingredients, and to think about how things are made, i.e. is it fried in oil) is the trap that vegans fall into that can surprise them with heart health problems (especially if they’re genetically inclined).
There are lots of little tweaks you can make to what you do and don’t eat, too, based on informed recommendations (salt consumption, for instance, plays more or less of a role based on your genetics, and the one sized recommendation only applies if we assume everyone lives off of fast food).
Cholesterol is actually far less complicated than it has been made out to be in past decades, and easy to get control of with some simple changes (try filling up on veggies first—or always cook an appetizer from a vegan cookbook to start your meals with).
If you want to take your heart health a step further, try natural supplements (filler free! other brands use stearates, a trans fat, in their production process) that support healthy cholesterol. If you’re vegetarian, check out our Immune System Regenerator (it’s based on the nutritional support for vitamin and mineral rich humic and fulvic acid). Or, try our Deep Ocean Krill Oil, which supports healthy cholesterol and other forms of heart health.
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