Arguably the most important “modifiable risk factor” for heart disease is one’s “blood cholesterol level.” This is an EASILY MEASURABLE THING! According to the U.S. National Institute for Health:
“Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. A risk factor is a condition that increases your chance of getting a disease. In fact, the higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk for developing heart disease or having a heart attack. Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States. Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks, and about a half million people die from heart disease.”
Green Vegetables Like Kale Can Help To Quickly Bring Down LDL Cholesterol Levels!
Scientists and researchers are just starting to understand how green vegetables like Kale can quickly and measurably bring down blood cholesterol levels. When you consume Kale for some reason your “bile acids” are used in the process of digesting it. The “bile acids” are then excreted.
When bile acids are excreted, the body needs to make more. One of the main uses of cholesterol in the body is in the production (or “synthesis”) of new bile acid! So, high daily consumption of leafy greens can speed up the process of bile excretion and production, which can help to directly lower cholesterol levels.
Broccoli functions in the same manner, especially when it is steamed. The fiber in the broccoli binds together with bile acids in your digestive tract. Which causes bile acids to be excreted, which lowers cholesterol. Virtually every other green vegetable has similar properties. Additionally, you are ingesting incredible nutrients, which improve your health, help you lose weight and just feel great.
Pectin-Containing Fruits Like Apples and Pears Function The Same Way…
You have heard the old saying that “An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away.” This is literally true. “Pectin” is a fiber that binds to bile acids in the digestive system. So when you eat an apple, or a pear or a pile of green vegetables, you are triggering a process that can literally suck elevated levels of bad cholesterol out of your system!
The Ideal Way To Cook Kale:
According to whfoods.com “Kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they’ve been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it’s easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability – just not as much.”
How Quickly Can One Reduce Their Cholesterol Levels?
This will depend on the person, but one CAN reduce levels significantly in a matter of months if they bring their consumption of greans, beans, salad and lentils up to very high levels. According to a Dr. Fuhrman article on reversing heart disease, the diet that will most quickly reduce cholesterol “takes into account the nutrient-per-calorie density of foods” in a “rigorous” manner.
At PEERtrainer we find that for general weight loss, a less rigorous adherence to the nutrient density can help boost overall compliance. However, if you are in a high risk category, you really want to pay very close attention to the detail of the advice that Dr. Fuhrman is giving out. Please!
In fact, Dr. Fuhrman has objected strongly to our “Diet Fusion” concept, because he views us as “watering down” his important ideas.
If you have any confusion about how to put his ANDI points system into practice, PLEASE take the time to go to your nearest Whole Foods Market. They are doing an amazing job of putting his ANDI points system into something that you can easily do, in a cost effective manner.
A Simple Plan To Eat High Amounts Of Cholesterol Reducing Foods
At PEERtrainer we have developed a simple list of foods to focus on and foods to move away from, as well as a simple incentive structure that helps you easily eat these foods each day. We call this the “Cheat System” and you can download it for free from this page.
PEERtrainer Community Member Jennifer S. Posted This On Our Facebook Wall:“I was doing the Eat to Live (so lots and lots of kale and spinach) about 90% between mid-July and late August and during that time my cholesterol dropped 105 pts overall. My LDL came down significantly, as did my triglycerides. Even though …I was 3 weeks on a low-dose statin at that time, the doctor said the change in diet is probably what really pushed the numbers. I also dropped 11 lbs in that time frame (continuing to lose, and still on Eat to Live about 75% after that, but back to about 90% for the next few weeks for post-holiday reboot).”
