Lowering Cholesterol
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Lowering Cholesterol Helps Heart Health :
September is National Cholesterol Education Month. Maury River Senior Center has obtained information from the National Institutes of Health about the importance of lowering your cholesterol, and is pleased to share it with our neighbors. CVS pharmacist Brian Morris will present additional cholesterol facts at MRSC on Tuesday, September 20 at noon. Please join us for this free event.
Why Is Cholesterol Important ?
Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease. In fact, the higher your cholesterol level, the greater your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks, and about a half million people die from heart disease.
What Affects Cholesterol Levels ?
A variety of things can affect cholesterol levels. These are the things you can do something about:
- Diet. Saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat make your blood cholesterol level go up. Reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet helps lower your blood cholesterol level.
- Weight. Being overweight is a risk factor for heart disease. It also tends to increase your cholesterol.
- Physical Activity. Regular physical activity can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It also helps you lose weight. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most, if not all days.
Simple Steps to Reduce Your Risk for Heart Disease:
- Get a fasting lipoprotein profile to find out what your total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglyceride numbers are.
- Discuss your risk for heart disease with your physician or health care provider and take steps to reduce your risk.
- Participate in physical activity of moderate intensity, like brisk walking, for at least 30 minutes on most, if not all days of the week. If this is too much for you, break the 30 minutes into three, 10-minute segments during the day.
- Don’t smoke. If you do smoke, discuss with your healthcare provider ways (s)he can help you quit.
- Learn how to read a food label. Choose foods that are low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.
Questions and Answers about Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, and Cholesterol :
- What is trans fat?
- Trans fat is a type of fat this is formed when vegetable oil is hardened through a process called hydrogenation. This process helps make foods more solid, gives them shape, and prolongs shelf life. By January 2006, food labels must list the amount of trans fat together with saturated fat and cholesterol.
- What foods contain saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol?
- High amount of saturated fat are found in animal products, such as fatty cuts of meat, chicken skin and full-fat dairy products, as well as in tropical oils like palm, palm kernel, and coconut oil. Trans fat is found in most vegetable shortening, some margarines (especially hard or stick margarine), crackers, cookies, baked goods, fried foods, salad dressings, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Foods high in cholesterol include liver and other organ meats, egg yolks, shrimp and full-fat dairy products.
- How can I use the new food label to make heart-healthy food choices?
- Check the Nutrition Facts panel of the food label. Choose goods lower in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. For saturated fat and cholesterol, you can also use the Percent Daily Value (%DV): 5% DV or less is low, and 20% DV or more is high.
- Is it better to eat butter instead of margarine to avoid trans fat?
- No. The combined amount of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol in butter is generally higher than in margarine. There are margarines available that contain no trans fat. Soft (tub) or liquid margarine usually contains less trans fat than hard (stick) margarine, and less saturated fat and cholesterol than butter.
Heart-healthy food doesn’t
have to be boring! This tart and tangy fruit dessert
is cholesterol free
and low sodium.
Summer Crisp :
Filling: Topping: 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour packed
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel flour
1/3 cup whole wheat
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground
4 cups sliced fresh peaches margarine, melted
1 tablespoon soft
3 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries
1. To prepare filling, combine sugar, flour and lemon peel; mix well. Add fruit and lemon juice; stir to mix. Spoon into a 6-cup (1 1/2 quart) baking dish.
2. To prepare topping, combine oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add melted margarine; stir to mix.
3. Sprinkle topping over filling. Bake at 375°F for 40-50 minutes until filling is bubbly and top is brown. Serve warm or at room temperature
Yields 6 servings.
Each serving provides:
Calories: 284 Total Fat: 6 g Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 56 mg
Other Tips from MRSC: