Atherosclerosis begins innocently: more and more often we feel short of breath after entering the first floor and our calves hurt even after a short walk. It may end up with a heart attack, stroke or leg amputation. And you can prevent the development of atherosclerosis by following a low-cholesterol diet.

If yourcholesterolis slightly elevated, try lowering it by switching to adietlow-fat diet and increasing the amount of vegetables and fruits on the menu , losing excess weight, systematically practicing sports, avoiding stress, high-alcohol drinks and caffeine and quitting smoking. It's worth trying, because such a diet effectively inhibits the development ofatherosclerosis . American scientists who conducted an interesting experiment convince us to do so. Nearly 400 volunteers first measured their LDL and HDL cholesterol levels very carefully, and then divided them into four groups. The first one did not change her lifestyle at all. The second one started practicing sports intensively. The third group went on a low-fat diet, and the fourth group was both active in sports and on a low-fat diet. The experiment lasted for a year. After this time, the volunteers' blood cholesterol was measured again. It turned out that LDL decreased significantly only in the fourth group, who were active and ate sensible food. A low-fat diet and exercise can only lower cholesterol by 10%. But this "only" is sometimes a chance for life. So let's go!

Important

» Arun Bordia, an Indian cardiologist, divided the 432 patients who had suffered heart attacks into two groups. One group ate 2-3 cloves of garlic daily for three years, the other group did not eat garlic at all. Already in the second year of experience in the group of garlic eaters, deaths due to heart attacks decreased by half, in the third year - by 66%. Blood cholesterol decreased by an average of 10 percent.» Eric Rimm from Harvard University studied a group of men who drank 150-250 ml of dry red wine every day for 2 years. It turned out that they had 32 percent. less common coronary heart disease than abstainers. Wine raised their level of good cholesterol, also had an anticoagulant effect and turned out to be an effective antioxidant.

Change diet -you will stop atherosclerosis

Elevated cholesterol levels usually accompany abdominal obesity. To find out if you have this type of obesity, just measure your waist size with a tape measure. If it is greater than 89 cm in a woman and 102 cm in a man, it is a signal that you need to lose weight. But so as to lower cholesterol at the same time. What and how to eat?

  • Milk and its products. Drink it down to 2 percent. fat content. Replace the cream with plain yogurt and the butter with soft margarine. Avoid fatty yellow and processed cheeses.
  • Meat and cold cuts. Choose lean meats such as turkey, chicken, rabbit and veal. Avoid goose meat, duck meat, pork, and offal. Remove the skin from the poultry. Boil the meat, stew it without browning it, bake it in foil, on a wire rack. Do not fry (especially in breadcrumbs which absorb fat like a sponge). Eat poultry, lean ham and sirloin from cured meats. Definitely avoid pates, brawn, canned meats.
  • Pisces. Do not eat too often e.g. eel, herring, whitefish, whitefish, tuna, but eat at least twice a week, e.g. cod fillet, tench, sea salmon, zander. Make grilled or boiled fish. Steamed fish dishes taste great.
  • Eggs. Eat whole only once a week. If you like, you can eat more protein itself, which is cholesterol-free.
  • Cereal products. Replace white bread with dark. Choose groats, oatmeal and dark pastas (e.g. buckwheat).
  • Fruits and vegetables. Eat as much as possible, up to 2 kg a day (including potatoes). They are rich in vitamins and fiber. Fiber, especially water-soluble fiber, reduces blood cholesterol levels.
  • Fats. Use vegetable oils best for raw foods. Do not reach for lard, bacon, hard margarines. It's best not to spread the bread.
You must do it

Doctors from the Texas Institute of Cardiology have compiled a list of physical activities recommended for people who care about their heart. They arranged them according to their effect on LDL levels.

  • Walk at 4.5 km / h
  • Cycling
  • Fast ballroom dance
  • Badminton game
  • Ice skating
  • Tennis
  • Aerobics
  • Skiing
  • Swimming
  • Run 9.5 km / h

Category:

Diets