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Past the age of 45, both men and women's chance of developing heart attacks and strokes greatly increase, and high cholesterol is one of the primary causes of heart disease. Cholesterol, a fatty substance normally found in the bloodstream of healthy people, increases the risk for heart disease hen the levels climb too high.
Our bodies make some cholesterol and the rest we get from animal products. So one way to reduce the risk of a heart disease is with a low cholesterol diet. Reducing our intake of meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk products would be a good start to creating a healthy low cholesterol diet. In addition, we can increase our consumption of plant products including fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes.
One of the most under-appreciated legumes is the soy bean. Years of research have demonstrated the beneficial effect of soy and lowering cholesterol. Soy has the ability to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol). The reason soy and cholesterol make good sense is that the isoflavones in soy products have been proven to lower LDL levels without also lowering HDL. In some instances, a low cholesterol diet where fat has been significantly reduced may lower LDL levels but also reduce HDL as well.
A good low cholesterol diet to reduce the risk of heart disease would be one that is low in animal fat and contains around 25 grams of soy protein daily. The use of soy and lowering cholesterol is becoming fairly common and trendy. More and more options are available for people to get the daily dosage of soy they need with soy beverages, tofu, soy protein bars, soy nuts and even soy baked goods.
As men, women and children begin to associate soy and cholesterol as a healthy heart combo, they may be more inclined to incorporate some of the new soy products into their low cholesterol diet. Starting kids when they are young will start them on healthy habits for life and hopefully prevent them from health problems later in life.
A landmark decision for the role of soy and lowering cholesterol came about on October 26, 1999 when the FDA approved the use of health claims involving the part soy protein plays in reducing the risk of heart disease on labeling foods containing soy. This final ruling was based on the FDA's conviction that foods with soy protein when included in a low cholesterol diet might reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol levels.
Our bodies make some cholesterol and the rest we get from animal products. So one way to reduce the risk of a heart disease is with a low cholesterol diet. Reducing our intake of meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk products would be a good start to creating a healthy low cholesterol diet. In addition, we can increase our consumption of plant products including fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes.
One of the most under-appreciated legumes is the soy bean. Years of research have demonstrated the beneficial effect of soy and lowering cholesterol. Soy has the ability to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol). The reason soy and cholesterol make good sense is that the isoflavones in soy products have been proven to lower LDL levels without also lowering HDL. In some instances, a low cholesterol diet where fat has been significantly reduced may lower LDL levels but also reduce HDL as well.
A good low cholesterol diet to reduce the risk of heart disease would be one that is low in animal fat and contains around 25 grams of soy protein daily. The use of soy and lowering cholesterol is becoming fairly common and trendy. More and more options are available for people to get the daily dosage of soy they need with soy beverages, tofu, soy protein bars, soy nuts and even soy baked goods.
As men, women and children begin to associate soy and cholesterol as a healthy heart combo, they may be more inclined to incorporate some of the new soy products into their low cholesterol diet. Starting kids when they are young will start them on healthy habits for life and hopefully prevent them from health problems later in life.
A landmark decision for the role of soy and lowering cholesterol came about on October 26, 1999 when the FDA approved the use of health claims involving the part soy protein plays in reducing the risk of heart disease on labeling foods containing soy. This final ruling was based on the FDA's conviction that foods with soy protein when included in a low cholesterol diet might reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol levels.