What's On Your Plate? part 8--FATS

The major kinds of fats in the food we eat are saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and trans fatty acids. Saturated fats and trans fats raise blood cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol also raise blood cholesterol. A high level of cholesterol in the blood is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack, and also increases the risk of stroke.
Recommendations
* Limit foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and/or cholesterol such as whole milk dairy products, fatty meats, tropical oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and egg yolk. Instead choose foods low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. Here are some helpful tips:
--Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables
--Eat a variety of grain products, including whole grains
--Eat fish at least twice a week, particularly fatty fish
--Include fat free and low fat milk products, legumes (beans), skinless poultry and lean meats
--Choose fats and oils such a liquid and tub margarines, canola, corn, safflower, soy bean and olive oil.
* Saturated fat intake should not exceed 7 percent of total calories each day. Trans fat intake should not exceed 1 percent of total calories each day.
* Total fat intake (satuated, trans, monounsatuated, polyunsatuated) should be adjusted to fit total caloric needs. Overweight people should consume no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat.

What's on your plate, part 7--Cholesterol

What is Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fat that circulates in the blood. The body needs cholesterol, since it is a building material for body cells. Cholesterol is a fatty, soft, waxy substance resembling hardened grease - and it occur in the bloodstream.

Now, cholesterol is not bad in itself. For one thing it is the raw material to make sex hormones. It also helps form hormones involved in the stress reaction. However high cholesterol can slowly clog arteries resulting in heart disease and stroke. This clogging of arteries takes years to become life threatening, but also can be reversed using nutritional supplements, exercise a low fat diet.

There are two types of cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL). LDL cholesterol, is called the bad cholesterol, because it causes the build up of plaque inside blood levels. Remember this is the cholesterol to lower. HDL is the good cholesterol, because it actually removes the cholesterol from the blood vessels' walls. This is the one to increase by as much as you can.

Where does cholesterol come from?

While there are various causes of high cholesterol, cholesterol as such comes from two sources: your body and the food you eat. In your body, cholesterol is made in the liver. Your liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs. That's why you don't really need the cholesterol coming from the second source--foods that you eat. What ever food you eat the live will take from it the necessary ingredients to produce cholesterol. As a rule of thumb all animal and dairy products contain high cholesterol. However vegetables contain none of it. As such one way of lowering cholesterol is to avoid foods that contain high cholesterol - or at least minimize their consumption, that is animal and dairy products.

http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/cholesterol-information.html

What's On Your Plate? part 6 Fiber

Dietary fiber comes from plant source and is an important part of a healthy diet. There are two types of fiber soluble and insoluble. Many plant foods contain some of both; for example, soluble fibers dissolves in water and insoluble fibers do not. Good source of soluble fiber include oats, bean, dried peas, fruits, vegetables and legumes. Wheat bran, whole grain products and vegetables are good source of insoluble fiber.
Fiber helps to keep the colon clean and cause food to go through the intestine on a timely basis. Fiber acts like a broom that sweeps the colon. Although fiber no real nutritional value its contribution to health especially the health of the colon is invaluable.
How much fiber do I need
The American Dietetic Association recommends a healthy diet include 20-35 grams of fiber a day from plant foods, including both soluble and insoluble fiber. However most of us consume only half that amount. You should do you best to get the fiber you need from the foods you eat each day.

www.benefiber.com