Every person who has high cholesterol has one question to ask that is How to Reduce Cholesterol? First let us look at what exactly is cholesterol. It is basically a fat like substance that is actually required for the body to function. It is present in every organ of the body like nerves, brain, skin, liver etc. Cholesterol is used to produce hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids that are basically present to help digest the fat. But sometimes the levels become high and block the arteries and causes less blood supply.
High Cholesterol symptoms are usually very rare. They are generally known by a blood test. The symptoms are usually from a major disease like stroke, coronary diseases, and vascular diseases.
The first symptom of Coronary diseases is angina. This means a person feels a squeezing pain in the chest and very high pressure as well. They usually feel as if something heavy is placed on the chest. Apart from this the other symptoms in this condition is nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness, lightheadedness, and palpitations of the heart. Stroke has four primary symptoms like numbness of the face, difficulty in speaking; enable to see properly, dizziness and lack of coordination. A person may also experience nausea, fever and may even go into coma. The symptoms of Peripheral Vascular diseases are numbness or tingling effect, a sudden cold sensation, open sores, or ulcers that are not healed soon.
Proper care and consumption of cholesterol lowering foods aid in reducing the cholesterol content to a certain extent. Given below are some of the few foods that help in reducing cholesterol.
Oats and barley – Because of the content of soluble fiber called beta glucan present in oats and barley; they help in reducing the cholesterol.
Fruits and Vegetable – Fruits such as apple, citrus fruits, berries, apricots, and vegetables such as carrots, and sweet potato are known to reduce the cholesterol levels. This is because of the presence of pectin and soluble fibers in them.
Flaxseeds - Alpha-linolenic acid a Poly-unsaturated fat present in the flaxseeds are said to be extremely helpful in reducing the cholesterol levels.
Olive oil and Fish – The mono-unsaturated fats present in the olive oil and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids content of the fish are said to be excellent sources of food that help in reducing the cholesterol levels.
Soya Protein and Nuts – These two food products help in reducing the high cholesterol as they contain mono saturated or poly saturated fats. Proper and controlled diet, exercise and a healthy and stress free life style helps a person remain cholesterol free.
