Cholesterol and Your Lifestyle

Our Lifestyle and Lower Cholesterol

Cholesterol in our body is produced in the liver, which is the organ that usesthe fats in our diet as fuel. What it producesis all the cholesterol the body needs to keep us moving.Why does it need cholesterol you may wonder? Among other things, it works by producingbile that is needed to help with digestion, protecting nerve fibers, buildingcell membranes, creating hormones, and also creating vitamin D.

Cholesterol that is found in our foods comes only from animal products thatare rich in saturated fats. Plant foods haveno cholesterol in the, at all. Our bodies needfats, of course, and we get a natural mix of them in many whole foods.But a diet that is too rich in saturated fatsand transfatty acids such as those that you get in processed foods is a provenhealth risk. Studies now indicate thatpolyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which can be found in olive and fishoils, are better for us and can help lower cholesterol.

Dietary fats are a concentrated sourceof special calories and because of this one of the two main causes of peoplebeing overweight and obesity. Lack of exerciseis the other reason for this. Decreasingdietary fat and increasing regular exercise are the first and quite frankly theeasiest steps that you can take to lower cholesterol and improve your overalland heart health.