Cholesterol And Triglycerides Weight Loss Diet Nutrition Tips Guide

Cholesterol and Triglycerides In Moderation To Improve Your Health

By Tracy Kerr-Walshe

Cholesterol and triglycerides, which is fat in the blood and is your nemesis, have made you a prime candidate for heart disease, strokes and diabetes. "Even if you control bad LDL cholesterol to less than 70, you still need to look at triglycerides," said Leslie Cho, director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Center in Cleveland.

Cholesterol is not harmful in and of itself, but is dangerous when it’s oxidized by free radicals. Similarly, triglycerides are a common form of fat and energy in the body but become dangerous when you eat way more calories than you burn throughout the day.

To get your triglycerides and cholesterol back down to a normal level, you will have to make some dietary changes. For people who have high cholesterol levels from eating too many fattening foods, cholesterol lowering can be accomplished by as much as 10-20% from dieting alone.

Help You Lose 2 Pounds Per Week

Reducing calories to 1,200-1,500 for women and 1,500-1,800 for men will help you lose 2 pounds per week. When losing weight, you shouldn’t drink more than one serving of alcohol per day and you should be ingesting eight cups of water daily. Adding just 30 minutes of exercise per day, either all at once or in 3 intervals of 10 minutes, can work wonders for heart health.

A sample diet plan for someone looking to lower cholesterol and triglycerides begins with ½ cup of oatmeal with a cup of nonfat milk, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and a sliced banana or ½ cup of canned peaches. For lunch, slap 2 ounces of lean turkey onto two slices of whole wheat bread, adding a tablespoon of Miracle Whip, a tomato and a slice of lettuce.

Carrot sticks and fruit make a nice complement to this midday feast. You can treat yourself to a satisfying snack of yogurt, raisins and peanuts midday if you desire.

A Great Dinner

A great dinner consists of 3 oz. baked or broiled salmon, a cup of brown rice, a cup of cooked broccoli, a slice of bread with one teaspoon of margarine, 1 tablespoon of olive oil used in cooking and a salad with 1 ½ cups of romaine lettuce, ½ cup of tomatoes, ¼ cup of cucumber and 1 tablespoon of oil/vinegar salad dressing. You’ll find that well-rounded eating like this is more satisfying than binging on small, fatty meals.

If your doctor finds that you have an abundance of cholesterol and triglycerides, then there are several things that may be recommended. The first step is usually a diet/lifestyle change.

Start Exercising And Lose Weight

Yes, you’ll need to quit smoking, start exercising a little more, lose some weight and give up some of your favorite foods, but keep in mind that its small potatoes compared to paying the medical bills when you have a heart attack. If lifestyle modifications do not significantly improve your heart health, then you will likely require medication.

Statins are the most common prescriptions, but you may also try other drugs, like bile acid sequestering resins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, fibrates, and nicotinic acid (niacin).

This Article was about Cholesterol And Triglycerides.

About the Author:
Tracy Kerr-Walshe is an author of dieting articles including Effective Weight Loss, Full Body Detox, Juice Fasting.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles coming soon.