Instead of reaching for some chips, a high fat cookie or a chocolate bar when hunger strikes, choose one of these tasty low fat snacks to fill that “hunger void”.

1. A piece of fresh fruit or vegetable such as an apple, banana or carrot. Keep chunks or sticks wrapped in a plastic bag is the fridge. Having them there and ready to go is the key here. Half of the appeal to candy and chips is their ready-to-go availability. Having your fruits and vegetables in the same format will increase the chances that you will choose them rather than a snack that is not good for you.

1. A handful of dried fruit, such as raisins, apricots or sultans. These also make a perfect addition to children’s lunch boxes or school snack breaks. Again, we fall into the category of availability – if they are there, and ready to go, your chances of choosing them over more fatty snacks will increase.

2. A portion of canned fruit in natural fruit juice – serve with a spoonful or two of fat free yogurt. Make sure that you purchase the type canned in water or natural fruit juices however, as you don’t want the added sugar in the “syrup” versions.

3. One or two crisp rice cakes. You can have plain rice cakes or top them with honey or reduced fat cheese. Also available are several great flavors of rice cakes such as cheddar cheese, cinnamon or caramel. Just be sure to check the labeling for added fat and sugar content added.

4. Crackers, such as water biscuits or crisp breads, spread with reduced sugar jam or marmalade.

5. A bowl of whole-wheat breakfast cereal or no-added sugar granola served with a little skimmed milk. Oatmeal has the distinction of being one of the very first prepared cereals that was approved to be labeled as “Cholesterol Lowering” by the FDA

6. Very low-fat plain or fruit yogurt or ricotta cheese

7. A toasted teacake spread with reduced sugar jam or marmalade

8. a toasted pancake spread with fruit puree

For many of us snack time is that one or two times a day when, because of haste, we always choose the wrong foods. It’s important to some of us to snack, but should be even more important to snack wisely!

Demystifying Cholesterol has these tricks and more to help you in lowering your cholesterol. Included in the package are 50 great low-fat, low cholesterol recipes that make eating for low cholesterol fun again!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/low-fat-and-very-low-fat-snacks-for-low-cholesterol-diets-980085.html

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Lowering your cholesterol is an important step toward reducing your risk of heart disease. In fact, it could be the most important step! The risk of heart attack and stroke is directly attributable to high cholesterol levels so the sensible, the vital, thing to do is lower your cholesterol in as many ways as possible.

Lowering cholesterol through diet is one sure way to get a better balance between your LDL cholesterol and your HDL cholesterol. (LDL being the “bad guy” and HDL being the “good guy”).

Here are some healthy diet alternatives that will help you lower your cholesterol significantly if followed regularly.

Breads and Cereals: Healthier bread contains whole grains and not too much sodium. Whole grains are not just richer in vitamins, minerals and fiber. In addition, they contain phytochemicals that may help cut the risk of heart disease and cancer.

• Use Whole grain breads

• Pasta

• Hominy grits

• Rice

Fish: Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to lower triglycerides, which are a type of fat in the bloodstream. Experts aren’t sure of the exact mechanism. Omega-3 fatty acids may also slow down the growth of plaques in the arteries and reduce inflammation throughout the body.

• Salmon

• Tuna

• Trout

• Herring

• Sardines

• Mackerel

Beans: Beans can lower your cholesterol as well. The reason these high fiber legumes are so effective is because they contain pectin. The more of these beans that you can eat, the greater the benefits.

• Lima beans

• Kidney beans

• Navy beans

• Soy beans

Oils: Know which oils are good for you and which are bad. The following oils are the good ones – try to stick with them for lowering your cholesterol.

• Canola oil

• Olive oil

• Grapeseed oil

• Flax seed oil

Chocolate: DARK chocolate can actually help reduce your cholesterol level. This is good for the chocolate lovers around the world, but remember that milk chocolate contains lots of fats and is NOT good for you!

Nuts: Some nuts are especially good at helping you to cut your LDL cholesterol and raising your HDL level. A perfect “balancing” food. Some of the better nuts are:

• Almonds

• Walnuts

• Hazelnuts

• Pistachios

These are just a few of the more common food/food groups that, if eaten regularly, can help you to lower your cholesterol level naturally.

Demystifying Cholesterol delves into many more possibilities that can help you to significantly lower your cholesterol in 30 days. Impress your doctor!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/lowering-your-cholesterol-through-simple-food-choices-977733.html

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Coronary heart disease is the narrowing of the blood vessels that supply oxygen and blood to the heart. It is also termed coronary artery disease. Coronary Heart Disease or CHD is caused due to a condition called atherosclerosis. When fatty material and plaque build up on the walls of the arteries, atherosclerosis occurs. This leads to the coronary arteries getting narrow. As a result, blood flow to the heart slows down and sometimes even stops. These result in the symptoms of chest pain or angina, heart attack, shortness of breath and other problems. CHD is one of the leading causes of death the world over.

More than women, men above the age of 40 are more prone to CHD. There are many reasons that can increase the risk for CHD. Heredity is one of common causes for the disease. Among the other factors are diabetes, high blood pressure, high LDL “bad” cholesterol, low HDL “good” cholesterol, menopause, not getting enough exercise or physical activity, obesity and smoking.

Though the symptoms of heart disease are highly noticeable, there are times when no proper symptoms are visible and yet one has the disease. Angina or pain and discomfort in the chest are the most common symptom. This pain occurs when the heart does not get enough blood or oxygen. The chest pain can be of two types: atypical and typical. Atypical chest pain is sharp and keep coming and going. This pain is felt in the left chest, abdomen, back or arm. Since this pain is not related to any physical activity, rest does not provide any relief. Nor do the medicine called nitroglycerin.

When one starts to feel heavy as if one is being squeezed, it is a typical chest pain. The pain is felt under the breast bone or sternum. This type of pain occurs after some activity or high levels of emotion. Rest and nitroglycerin help to provide comfort. Those having the typical chest pain are more at risk of having CHD than those with atypical chest pain.

Among the other symptoms of heart disease are: shortness of breath, heart attack and fatigue with activity or exertion. A heart attack can often be the first sign of CHD. There are many tests that help to diagnose CHD. A doctor, usually, does more than one tests before diagnosing CHD.

Among the tests are: coronary angiography or arteriography, electrocardiogram or ECG, Electron-beam computed tomography or EBCT which looks for calcium in the artery linings, exercise stress test, echocardiogram, magnetic resonance angiography and nuclear scan. The more the calcium deposits in the artery linings, the more the chances of developing CHD.

The treatment of heart disease depends on the symptoms and the severity of the disease. If the CHD does not have any of the symptoms, one can be treated with medicines or through angioplasty with stenting. Among the medications that are used to treat CHD are: ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure; blood thinners to reduce the risk of blood clots; beta-blockers to lower heart rate and blood pressure; calcium channel blockers to relax arteries; diuretics to lower blood pressure; and nitrates to stop chest pain and improve blood supply to the heart.

Read more on Herbal Cure for Heart Care and Home remedies for Heart Care

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/coronary-heart-disease-symptoms-969331.html

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If you already have been diagnosed with a high cholesterol level, but do not to lower your cholesterol level down with the drugs. It is hard to figure out what to do after that. However, a simple Internet search can discover a lot of services and products you can purchase to help – some are using natural ingredient, some are not.

But If you really want to lower the level of your cholesterol in natural way, there are two major strategies that you can follow, which will make is a difference the next time you got the result of your cholesterol blood test.

1. Regular Physical Exercise

Physical activity which is done regulary will immediately lower your bad cholesterol level also known as the Low Density Lipoprotein(LDL), and at the same time will increase your good cholesterol level also known as the High Density Lipoprotein(HDL). There is a biological basis for this reason.

If you exercise, even with moderate levels, your muscle cells need more injection of fuel, and your body reacts to that needed by mobilizing the fatty acids and also glucose to supply some quantities of fuel. For each time that you get up from your comvertable couch and go to do some training season, you just make yourselve a positive difference. More to that, exercise regulary will also lower your stress level, and remember that stress can increase the level of your bad cholesterol.

If you have not done any exercise for the time being, it is wise to talk to your doctor before hand just to make sure that it is okay for you to get sweaty. After you finish consult with your doctor, use your doctor recommendations, take the phone and you can book an appointment to see your local accredited and qualified personal fitness coach. Basically they are not for celebrities only, your fitness coach will show you which exercise that can make you shapely result and fast, and to make sure that you do it in safety way.

2. A good diet

Fibers, particularly soluble fiber is your second important strategy. Most of the food that people in the world eats are not having enough fiber, especially to those people who eat more of takeaway food or processed food.

Soluble fiber will vacumm the fat and bring it out from your body and prevent the fat from being stored on the blood vessel. It is crucial to have the right quantity of soluble fiber within our body: you must eat every day,

- 57-140g of oatmeal
- 2-3 pears or apples
- 100-150g of dry legumes (beans)
- 10-30g Psyllium or cups
Any combination of those above

If you put your determination to eat the right quantities of fiber every time every day, than you will automatically eat less the non healthty food and the processed food from your diet. more to that, your bowel will also in better health!

Since you know now two main strategies for lower your cholesterol level naturally, of course, it is the time to put into practice. The best thing is, these strategies are also boost a lot of energy for life, in the same time lowering the stress level. Soon you will feel right to control your health. The problems with high cholesterol level is the thing of the past.

If you would like to know more about how you can lower cholesterol level, make sure to visit our website at http://lower-cholesterol-level.blogspot.com

If you would like to know more about how you can lower cholesterol level, make sure to visit our website at http://lower-cholesterol-level.blogspot.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/lower-cholesterol-level-with-these-strategies-949981.html

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