Heart disease is a serious health issue. It is usually caused by unhealthy levels of cholesterol. There are several mitigating factors that can lead to increased unhealthy cholesterol levels. Increased cholesterol levels can be caused by being overweight but it does not necessarily cause heart disease. By losing weight you can greatly improve your total cholesterol levels as well as increase your good cholesterol and lower your bad cholesterol. Also, factors like the amount of exercise you do, age, and gender play an important part in whether you are at risk for having high cholesterol. The genes you got from your Mom and Dad also determine the likelihood of having high cholesterol. High cholesterol can run in families for generations. Lowering your cholesterol level can be accomplished by adhering to certain diets.

Sticking to a low-cholesterol diet is one of the best ways in keeping your cholesterol levels in check. By cutting the bad cholesterol that you eat by ten to twenty percent, you can improve the health of your heart. Meals that are rich in healthy fats like vegetable oils and fish are yummy ideas that are pleasing to your heart. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fats and trans fats, these can elevate bad cholesterol levels. To change your diet to a low-cholesterol diet replace the butter and trans fat margarines that you might typically use with canola oil, olive oil, or plant sterol spreads. Changing your eating habits takes some getting used to. At first when preparing low-cholesterol meals, use white wine vinegar instead of butter to keep your pan moist. You get the best of both worlds. It does not change the taste of the food and it is low in cholesterol. Instead of using whole eggs , you can use cholesterol-free egg substitute.

Changing your diet the right way will decrease your chances of heart disease. Some people are looking for a quick fix to losing weight and dieting is usually their method of choice but often times they do not make changes in their diet the right way. Actually, low-fat, high-carb diets can raise your cholesterol levels. Since cholesterol is so important to the human body, it has a backup plan in case you were to be faced with starvation. Your liver will start to produce cholesterol to guarantee your body maintains a certain level of cholesterol. By eating a low-fat, high-carb diet, high levels of insulin are introduced and trigger the body to siphon off excess blood sugar into the liver to make cholesterol and triglycerides (which are used for energy and fat storage). As you can see, staying away from anything that has cholesterol is not such a good idea. You should continue to eat foods that contain good cholesterol. Your liver only makes 75% of the cholesterol that you need. The remaining 25% comes from the foods that you eat. Decreasing the amount of cholesterol that you eat and making up those calories in carbs and sugar, your metabolism goes into famine mode and your liver overproduces cholesterol to make up the difference. Until you start eating cholesterol again, your liver will continue to do this. In conclusion, a low-cholesterol, high-carbohydrate diet can actually lead to high cholesterol!