For centuries, legumes or dry beans, as they are commonly known, have been a staple food in the Mediterranean countries where they have played an important part in the fight against heart disease.

 

Why?  Because…

 

- Legumes contain essential minerals and vitamins such as iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, zinc, potassium, folic acid, and some of the B-complex vitamins.

- They are low in fat and sodium which make them an ideal food to keep high cholesterol and high blood pressure at bay.

- Legumes are also high in soluble fiber, the kind that lowers cholesterol.

- They can help balance your budget because they are very inexpensive.

 

As you can see, dry beans are an almost perfect food.

 

In the past few years, research has paid a lot of attention to the connection between regular legume consumption and a lower incidence of heart disease. The studies have shown that the people who eat dry beans regularly have a lower risk of suffering from heart attacks than the ones who barely eat them.

 

One study examined the relationship between soluble fiber intake and the risk of heart disease on 9,632 men and women over a period of 19 years. It showed that consuming legumes four times or more per week, compared with less than once a week, lowered the risk of heart disease by 22 percent1  

 

How Eating Legumes Can Help You Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease?

        

1. Dry beans contain high amounts of soluble fiber

 

Fiber is what gives plants its structure. It’s found mainly in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, as well as whole grains. It is the portion of plants that our system can not break down because it doesn’t have the appropriate mechanisms to do it. Consequently, our cells have very little use for fiber. Fiber can be soluble and insoluble, and most plant foods contain a combination of both.

 

Soluble fiber means that the fiber dissolves in water and forms a jelly-like paste with other foods in the intestine. This feature is very important because it reduces the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood. Soluble fiber not only lowers LDL cholesterol, the “bad” guy, but it also raises HDL cholesterol, the “good” guy.   

 

Insoluble fiber does not have any effect on cholesterol but it is very beneficial for our whole body because it acts as a natural laxative

 

2. Dry beans help remove cholesterol from your system.   

 

Bile, produced by the liver, is a substance necessary to break down the fat we ingest in food. To produce bile, the liver grabs the cholesterol from the blood, converts it into bile, and sends it to the gallbladder where it’s stored until needed. Then, when we eat, the gallbladder sends the bile to the intestines to help break down the fat portion of the food. Once the bile has done its job in the intestines, one of two things can happen:

 

- If our meal has enough soluble fiber, the fiber grabs the bile and takes it out of the body through the feces. Once the bile is eliminated, the liver responds by drawing more cholesterol from the blood to make new bile. The result is less cholesterol circulating in our system.

 

- If our meal does not have enough soluble fiber, the bile is not taken out of the body. In this case, the liver doesn’t need to draw more cholesterol from the blood to produce more bile because there is plenty available in the system. The result is more cholesterol navigating in our blood vessels.

 

3. Dry beans stop cholesterol from even forming

 

When our meal includes soluble fiber, bacteria in the colon ferment it. This fermentation produces certain compounds that prevent the formation of cholesterol. This results in lower levels of cholesterol circulating in your blood vessels.

        

4. Dry beans can stop homocysteine from causing heart attacks or strokes

 

Homocysteine is a substance the body needs to produce certain compounds vital for our organs to function properly. To produce homocysteine, the body needs adequate amounts of vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid. However, when any of these vitamins is lacking, homocysteine is not converted into the necessary compounds. It then spills into circulation.

 

Many studies have shown that when homocysteine accumulates in our system, it becomes toxic. Even in small amounts, it will dramatically increase your risk of heart disease. High levels of homocysteine concentrations in the blood may cause a heart attack or a stroke, even among people who have normal cholesterol levels.

 

How can homocysteine cause heart attacks or strokes?

 

Abnormal levels of homocysteine appear to:

- Damage the inner lining of the arteries and blood vessels

- Promote blood clots

- Oxidize LDL cholesterol

 

How can you prevent homocysteine from accumulating in your blood?

 

Eat foods that contain folate as well as vitamins B6 and B12. Legumes are an excellent source of folate and contain moderate amounts of B6. Recent data show that the practice of fortifying foods with folate has reduced the average level of homocysteine in the U.S. population.

 

Conclusion

You don’t have to eat dry beans every day but based on studies conducted during more than 25 years, nutrition experts at the Michigan State University have concluded that eating 2 to 4 cups of cooked dry beans every week can protect us against heart disease2. Try to include a variety of legumes such as dry beans, garbanzo beans, and lentils several times a week. Mediterraneans follow this practice and are notorious for having a low incidence of heart attacks and strokes.

 

References:

1.Bazzano L, He J, Ogden L, Loria C, Suma Vupputuri S, Myers L, Whelton P, Legume consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2001;161:2573–2578 (a).

2. www.michiganstateuniversity.org.

 

 

About the Author:

With her new book, “Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet”, American Dietetic Association Registered Dietitian Emilia Klapp has helped thousands of people just like you lower high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels and remove the risk of heart disease. For more information on the book and to obtain a free especial report of the “Top 10 Mediterranean Curative Ingredients” go to: http://www.mediterraneanheart.com

 



http://www.google.com

Not everyone is conscious about how and what they eat. Because of this, many people suffer from degenerative diseases, which are caused by bad lifestyle choices. Too much fat in food can cause the body’s cholesterol levels to rise. High cholesterol is the primary reason for heart diseases, being overweight and high blood pressure etc. Considering how serious the damage that high cholesterol can be to your health, it has become important that people be mindful of what they can or cannot eat in order to maintain a lower cholesterol level in accordance with what the human body is required to have.

What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is defined as a wax-like matter that is derived from the liver. Having cholesterol in the body is important. Usually, our cholesterol levels are related to the food we eat. Many of the foods we eat contain some saturated fats that influence cholesterol levels. An increase of the body’s normal cholesterol level can be detrimental to health. That’s why more often than not people with high percentages of cholesterol are advised to practice a diet that can help them lower their cholesterol levels.

Lower cholesterol plays a key role in healthful living. An excess of cholesterol in the blood can cause the arteries to clot. And this clotting of the arteries may lead to a disease known as atherosclerosis. If this continues, the blood vessel becomes diminutive to the point that it could affect the flow of the blood through the veins, thereby resulting in heart attack or stroke. Furthermore, greater damage can be experienced if you have other ailments like obesity, hypertensions, and diabetes.

Many alternatives for reducing high cholesterol incidents are being developed. However, there are natural approaches that can be adopted by everyone.

To lower cholesterol the natural way, you are likely to be advised to follow a sensible diet and exercise scheme. A sensible diet means adhering to a low cholesterol diet. This would involve eating foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Based on medical studies foods like avocados, garlic and olive oil can help reduce cholesterol. Fiber-rich foods are also proven to reduce the risk for high cholesterol. Stay away from fried foods; grilling your food is better for your health. Keeping fit is the simplest therapy that everyone can do. Other natural options that can prevent excessive cholesterol is steering clear of cigarette smoking and drinking.

Natural ways to reduce cholesterol can bring significant changes to your health – changes that are vital to living a hearty and healthy life.

If you suffer with high cholesterol, you should consult your primary care physician prior to making any changes in your diet or lifestyle.



http://www.google.com

Bad dietary choices are a leading cause of many health problems, including high cholesterol levels. The primary reason for this is the consumption of to much fat in our daily diet. This is concerning because high cholesterol is one of the biggest risk factors for high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes. In other words ignoring the risks of high cholesterol can be deadly.

Fortunately it is easy to combat this problem if you know how to lower cholesterol naturally. In fact for most people fighting this serious medical condition some simple lifestyle changes are all it takes to reduce it.

If you understand what cholesterol is and how it works in the body you can begin to see how you can control it through natural methods. Cholesterol itself is a fatty wax like substance produced primarily in the liver. Eighty percent is produced by the body while the other twenty percent we need is gotten through the foods we eat. It’s when that percentage from foods starts to go above twenty percent that we run into health issues.

Cholesterol is an important substance that the body uses to create and maintain cell wall membranes and manufacture many of the hormones we need to keep the body functioning. But high levels of cholesterol in the blood stream can lead to atherosclerosis which is a narrowing and hardening of the arteries. This in turn can lead to high blood pressure, clogged arteries, and blood clots.

Because high cholesterol is such a problem in our society medical science has come up with a variety of treatments and drugs to help those who have issues with this problem. But generally it is only in the most extreme cases that prescription medication needs to be used. Normally natural processes work best in the fight against high cholesterol.

The first thing you will be advised to do upon learning that you have high cholesterol is to start making changes to your diet and get more exercise. A low cholesterol diet is more then avoiding foods that contain cholesterol, it is about changing the way you prepare your meals and avoiding saturated fats and trans fats; both of which have been shown to increase blood cholesterol levels more then cholesterol containing foods. This means avoiding and eliminating fried foods and fatty foods from your diet completely.

Eating healthy is your best defense along with a sensible exercise program in the fight against cholesterol. Learning how to lower cholesterol naturally is a matter of doing a little research and the internet offers a wealth of information on this subject. Making the necessary lifestyle changes around diet and exercise are not that hard and the change it has on your overall health are well worth the effort.



http://www.google.com