Managing cholesterol levels effectively requires a strategic approach that combines healthy eating, regular exercise, stress management, and good sleep hygiene. By adopting a well-structured daily routine, you can significantly improve your heart health and overall well-being. Here is a comprehensive guide to planning your day for optimal cholesterol management: Morning Routine 1. Hydrate with Warm Water: Start your day with a glass of warm water infused with lemon. This simple practice helps kick-start your metabolism, supports digestion, and hydrates your body after a night’s rest. 2. Heart-Healthy Breakfast: Make sure your breakfast is rich in soluble fiber and healthy fats to keep cholesterol levels in check. Some excellent options include: Oatmeal topped with fresh fruits, chia seeds, and a drizzle of honey Whole-grain toast spread with avocado and sprinkled with flaxseeds A smoothie made with spinach, frozen berries, flaxseeds, and almond milk 3. Exercise to Boost HDL (Good...
Who says white can’t be red? Scientists at the Technion-Israel institute of Technology created a kosher white wine with all of the beneficial health effects of red wine by adding skins of chardonnay or Muscat grapes (which are white or yellow) to the alcohol for the flavonoids, The wine is available under the Binyamina Winery label. They also found that Israeli wines reason may be that the intense israeli sunlight spurs the grapes to produce more flavonoids. The result? Studies find that Israeli red wine reduces cholesterol oxidation twice as much as French wines. >...
Wine scares many people. They envision snobbish wine store clerks, $200 bottles, and the need to know whether there are hints of chocolate, raspberry, or dirty old socks in the “bouquet.” The truth is that you don’t need to know much about wine to enjoy it; just find out which types of wines you like, then buy them. It may be handy when shopping at the wine store to know how to describe your preferences. Here are some words that can help: Body: The viscosity of the wine (a wine can be as thin as water or as thick as cream). Big: High in alcohol. Buttery: Having an aroma of butter or butterscotch. Crisp: High in fruit acidity (in a positive way). Fat: Full-bodied. Flabby: Not enough acid. Finish: The wine’s aftertaste. Fruity: The fruit the wine is made from (the grape) or another fruit flavor is perceptible. Hard: Too tannic (astringent and bitter due to a high level of compounds called tannins). Light: Light-bodied. Oaky: Can taste the oak imparted from aging in an oak...
Which fruits and veggies pack the most powerful antioxidant punch? Researchers at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University figured it out by measuring various fruits and vegetables for their “oxygen radical absorbance capacity,” a fancy way of saying their antioxidant power. Here are the top 10 performers in each category: Fruits Prunes Raisins Blueberries Blackberries Strawberries Raspberries Beets Plums Oranges Redgrapes Cherries Vegetables Kale oe Spinach Brussels sprouts Alfalfa sprouts Broccoli flowers Beets Red bell peppers Onions Corn Eggplant >...
Remember when eggs were off limits because of their cholesterol content (one large whole egg contains about 213 grams)? Well, not only are eggs back—with studies finding that even two eggs a day have no effect on cholesterol—but certain eggs are actually beneficial. That’s because some farmers have begun producing so-called “designer” eggs, extra high in omega-3 fatty acids. They do this by adding flaxseed to chicken feed. The label will clearly indicate this with wording like “omega- 3 enriched” or “high in omega-3 fatty acids.” You can find these eggs in most groceries. Eggs are an ideal source of protein. And while one egg contains 4.5 grams of fat, half of that fat is unsaturated. >...
Hearing you need to get nine or more servings of fruits and vegetables can be daunting. But consider the definitions of a serving (below) from the National Cancer Institute. All varieties of fruits and vegetables—fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100 percent juice—count. One medium-size fruit (apple, orange, banana, pear). ‘/o cup of raw, cooked, canned, or frozen fruits or vegetables. 3/4 cup (6 ounces) of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. ‘/2 cup of cut up fruit. ‘/2 cup of cooked or canned legumes (beans, peas). 1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach). ‘/a cup of dried fruit (raisins, apricots, mango). >...
Breads that say multigrain, seven-grain, nutra-grain, cracked wheat, stone-ground wheat, or enriched wheat must fill the bill, right? Wrong. Unless the word whole appears in the first ingredient, the bread is lacking some of the vitamins and minerals, not to mention fiber, of whole grains. Even a dark brown bread is no guarantee of whole grain; the color could be the result of molasses or caramel coloring. The bottom line: Make sure that the first ingredient is whole wheat or whole grain. >...
You probably don’t want to jump from 10 grams of fiber a day to 25 all at once. If you do you may experience some bloating and flatulence. instead, aim to gradually add about 4 grams of fiber every other day, cut until you’re able to handle the amount of fiber found in a whole apple with skin. >...
Unfortunately, aad! labels don’t distinguish between complex carbohydrates and simple carbe bohydrates (like sugar), But you can get a sense of the type of carbohydrate by looking at the grams of fiber. The higher the fiber content, the more complex carbohydrates you’re getting. lf you don’t see a listing for fiber, that’s because there is none, period. Aim for at least 3 grams of fiber per serying. And to make sure that a product doesn’t derive most of its carbohydrates from sugar, check the ingredients for sugar synonyms, such as corn syrup, sorbitol, dextrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, honey, and molasses. >...
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