How Fruit Can Reduce Your Cholesterol Levels
Eating fruit should be on your list of things to do every day.
And it's not just because there's little or no cholesterol in fruit; we need some cholesterol, which is essential for various natural processes such as producing hormones and creating cells.
But it's not enough to know that fruit can help in controlling cholesterol, you need to know why fruit is so important, that way you'll have the motivation you need to take action.
Cholesterol and Fruit - Best Friends Nearly all fruits have zero cholesterol, no fat and only a small amount of calories.
So at the very least having more fruit in your diet won't make your cholesterol levels any worse.
But fruit has a lot more to offer than as a diversion to our bad eating habits.
Fruit contains soluble fiber, which has been shown to have considerable benefits for our overall health.
Although fiber can be found in many food types, fruit is an ideal snack food and by increasing fruit in our diets will bring many benefits.
How Does Soluble Fiber Work With Cholesterol? Soluble fiber is a positive factor for our cholesterol in a number of ways.
First, it restricts the introduction of cholesterol into the small intestines, meaning overall cholesterol levels are reduced.
Secondly, it connects to bile which is predominantly made up of cholesterol and transports it to the colon where it is excreted from the body.
While nearly all fruits contain fiber, some are better than others.
Pears and citrus fruits contain the most soluble fiber of around 2g for each serving of ΒΌ cup.
Next are prunes on 1.
5g and apples, bananas, berries and peaches have 1g.
In 1999, a study compared nearly 70 independent tests which looked at the relationship between cholesterol and fiber.
The research, conducted by the The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggested that dietary fiber helped reduce both total cholesterol and LDL for the majority of participants and was small, but significant factor in controlling cholesterol.
But the good news is that you don't have to restrict yourself to a citrus fruit diet.
The more fruit you have in your diet the better, but it might not work for you to count up the number of grams per serving.
For most of us struggling with cholesterol and other health problems, we don't want to count calories, grams or anything else.
But what is important is we get the right information before making any lifestyle changes, then any actions we take will be fully informed and will occur naturally without too much thought or analysis.
The Next Step It sounds simple, but all you need to do is add more fruit to your diet.
To make it easier, consider the multiple benefits eating more fruit.
Besides helping your cholesterol, fruit contains many other vitamins and minerals that help us live healthier lives.
Perhaps the biggest benefit is that while you're munching on an apple, you're not eating that extra doughnut.
Adding more fruit to your diet, plus other lifestyle changes like taking regular exercise, the right natural supplements and other healthy eating choices are all part of the mix in improving our overall health.
And it's not just because there's little or no cholesterol in fruit; we need some cholesterol, which is essential for various natural processes such as producing hormones and creating cells.
But it's not enough to know that fruit can help in controlling cholesterol, you need to know why fruit is so important, that way you'll have the motivation you need to take action.
Cholesterol and Fruit - Best Friends Nearly all fruits have zero cholesterol, no fat and only a small amount of calories.
So at the very least having more fruit in your diet won't make your cholesterol levels any worse.
But fruit has a lot more to offer than as a diversion to our bad eating habits.
Fruit contains soluble fiber, which has been shown to have considerable benefits for our overall health.
Although fiber can be found in many food types, fruit is an ideal snack food and by increasing fruit in our diets will bring many benefits.
How Does Soluble Fiber Work With Cholesterol? Soluble fiber is a positive factor for our cholesterol in a number of ways.
First, it restricts the introduction of cholesterol into the small intestines, meaning overall cholesterol levels are reduced.
Secondly, it connects to bile which is predominantly made up of cholesterol and transports it to the colon where it is excreted from the body.
While nearly all fruits contain fiber, some are better than others.
Pears and citrus fruits contain the most soluble fiber of around 2g for each serving of ΒΌ cup.
Next are prunes on 1.
5g and apples, bananas, berries and peaches have 1g.
In 1999, a study compared nearly 70 independent tests which looked at the relationship between cholesterol and fiber.
The research, conducted by the The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggested that dietary fiber helped reduce both total cholesterol and LDL for the majority of participants and was small, but significant factor in controlling cholesterol.
But the good news is that you don't have to restrict yourself to a citrus fruit diet.
The more fruit you have in your diet the better, but it might not work for you to count up the number of grams per serving.
For most of us struggling with cholesterol and other health problems, we don't want to count calories, grams or anything else.
But what is important is we get the right information before making any lifestyle changes, then any actions we take will be fully informed and will occur naturally without too much thought or analysis.
The Next Step It sounds simple, but all you need to do is add more fruit to your diet.
To make it easier, consider the multiple benefits eating more fruit.
Besides helping your cholesterol, fruit contains many other vitamins and minerals that help us live healthier lives.
Perhaps the biggest benefit is that while you're munching on an apple, you're not eating that extra doughnut.
Adding more fruit to your diet, plus other lifestyle changes like taking regular exercise, the right natural supplements and other healthy eating choices are all part of the mix in improving our overall health.
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