Foods To Lower Your Cholesterol

Best Food To Lower Cholesterol

The best foods to lower your cholesterol are high fiber foods!

The 6 Weeks To The New You weight loss program is all about high fiber foods!

Soluble fiber has been shown to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your bloodstream.

All NON-starchy fruits and vegetables are high in fiber and relatively low in calories and sugars.

Other Foods Known To Reduce Cholesterol

Other foods that are known to reduce cholesterol include oats or oatmeal and oat bran. Oats have been shown in clinical tests to reduce your low-density lipoprotein.

Avocados have also shown a reduction in cholesterol levels during clinical tests in a very short time period.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reduce Cholesterol

Fish and other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to be heart healthy and reduce cholesterol levels.  Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids in addition to fish include flax, flax oil, grape seed oil, olive oil and avocados.

Nuts Good For Cholesterol

Nuts are good for your cholesterol too. They are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. They also help to keep your blood vessels clean. Nuts are high in calories so remember that a small handful is plenty!

Foods To Avoid

The foods to avoid when your doctor tells you that you have high cholesterol include:

• animal fats
• margarine
• hydrogenated fats
• mixes
• white grains

The 6 Weeks To The New You is really 6 weeks to a new way of eating that includes a diet high in cholesterol lowering foods.

3 Tips NOT To Gain Weight Over Holidays

It is the holidays and food is everywhere, so what can we do to NOT gain weight?!

Holiday Tips To NOT Gain Weight

Remember these tips when celebrating, going to parties and enjoying family and friends. These few simple things will ensure that you don’t literally “roll” out of the holiday season and into the New Year!

Holiday Food Tip # 1

Stay active!

Dancing is one way to stay active that works right into the holiday entertainment!

There are always ways to add activities into your life so that you do not ONLY eat! Park further away, take a play romp with the little ones outside, or dancing are just a few of the many ways you can stay active. Every little bit counts!!

#2 Don’t Let Food Pushers Push You

Don’t let “food pushers” push you into eating more!!! We all know what a food pusher is… someone who pushes food on you! Eat this or that, eat more, have seconds…. 

These are the people who, for whatever reason, seem to believe that they cannot have any holiday fun unless they get you to give in to their food weaknesses.

Whether it is a co-worker with a can of cookies or Aunt Mary with her extra helping of mashed potatoes the best thing to do is keep saying “no thank you!”

#3 Don’t Let Emotions Play Role In Holiday Eating Choices

We are cave people living in the 21st century.

Emotional eating was programed into us during the cave man/woman days. A cave person’s stress was in the hunt as well as in other crisis. It usually meant eat or be eaten. Stress today may not mean a life-or-death situation, but our programing still operates with a “grab and eat” emotional response.

A strategy to prevent emotional eating over the holidays is to be mindful. You can be mindful by making a plan, either for the whole holiday period or on an event-by-event basis.

Constantly remind yourself of your plan and bring yourself back to the here and now, notice what’s in your hand, notice what’s on your plate, and pay attention to what you are eating.

Holiday Tips Newsletter & NY Resolution Club

As the holiday rolls along we will keep sending out holiday tips and beginning January 2nd we will be providing support for NY resolutions.

If you want more information about the New Year’s Resolution Weight Loss Club join this list so that you get all the announcements. 

Please share any holiday tips you may have in the comment boxes below this article!

What Are Phytonutrients?

Colorful Plate = Good Health & Phytonutrients

When deciding what  to eat the easiest way to create a healthy meal is to have a wide variety of color on your plate. The most nutrient-rich foods are the most colorful foods. Packed full of phytonutrients, dark colored fruits and vegetables will help the body fight inflammation, destroy cancer cells and keep the blood flowing.

Phytonutrients = Super Foods

Phytonutrients are often called super foods due to their high vitamin, mineral, good fatty acids and antioxidant properties.

What Are Phytochemicals & Why Do I Need Them?

Phyto means plant in Greek. Phytochemicals or phytonutrients are the molecules in the plant responsible for the color.

These are very small chemicals or nutrients that affect our health and our body’s ability to fight disease and regenerate cells. They have not been placed into a nutrient group of their own but are part of all the nutrient groups. Scientists estimate that there are over 10,000 such chemicals that are considered beneficial to health.

The reason why we need them as a key component to our diet is that as a group, phytonutrients are key to a graceful, healthy aging process. Phytonutrient and antioxidants allow our body to rejuvenate cells.

Natural aging and living is a daily/continuous dying of cells. If our body cannot make more cells as they naturally die, then we will age before our time.

Foods High In Antioxidants – How To Get Phytonutrients

Basically any food that is colorful is high in antioxidants and phytonutrients. The deeper the color, the higher the levels. To get phytonutrients, just  eat a healthy diet  and paint a picture every time you fill your plate.

The list of foods high in phytonutrients is unlimited:

• Raspberries, pomegranate, grapes, goji berries, cranberries, cherries, blueberries, and other deep colored berries top the list.
• Red and orange fruits/vegetables are always recognized as super foods, such as carrots, squashes, orange and red peppers, tomatoes, mangoes, melons, etc.
• Get your dark leafy greens for nutrient-dense foods: spinach, kale, broccoli, swiss chard….
• All nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes and onion family foods are also high in phytonutrients.

As you can see the only thing it takes get all your phytonutrients is to eat a balanced diet with a wide variety of colors on a regular basis. Paint a picture on your plate!!