Eating For Health

Almost everyone has heard of cholesterol.   Not everyone has heard that you have both “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol.   For good health the goal is to raise the “good” cholesterol.   And yes, you do want the “good” cholesterol to be higher.   The other goal is to lower or keep within normal range the “bad” cholesterol.   What is cholesterol?   The Mayo Clinic defines cholesterol as “a waxy substance found in your blood”.   Believe it or not but your body not only needs cholesterol for healthy cells, your body also produces cholesterol.   Adults make about 1,000 mg of cholesterol a day and we get about 200-300 mg of cholesterol a day from food.   Our bodies need cholesterol for many functions in the body including being a precursor for vitamin D, a layer covering our nerve cells, to transport molecules around our body, and for each cell.   What about cholesterol and heart disease?   Our bodies use the cholesterol ...

Last week we talked about how important fiber is for feeding the good bacteria in your gut.   To have a healthy gut you need to populate it with good bacteria by eating yogurt and then you need to “feed” those good bacteria by adding some fiber to your diet.   Fiber is not only good as a food source for your good gut bacteria, fiber is also good for your heart.   A recent article in our local newspaper points out “ Four ways fiber helps your heart ” taken from an article by a registered dietitian, Carolyn Williams.   She acknowledges fiber is good for your gut but also your heart by saying, “to put it simply, eating more fiber means a healthy gut, and a healthy gut means a healthy heart.”    So how does fiber promote heart health?   Fiber lowers your cholesterol .   Have you seen the oatmeal and Cheerios packages?   Right on the front of Cheerios, it states, “Can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet”.   Foods like o...