Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

There is new hope on the horizon – testing for metabolic syndrome. You may recall that -metabolic syndrome can be described as a cluster of factors that put a person at risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Now a new breakthrough has occurred and doctors may soon have a test to identify well in advance those patients who are most likely to develop metabolic syndrome and further heart disease.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that people with high oxidation levels of LDL particles are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome. They measured oxidized LDL in more than 2,000 generally healthy people in the 33-45 year old age group (average age 40). After removing those with metabolic syndrome, they followed the remaining 1,889 persons for five years. They found that those with the highest levels of oxidized LDL had 3.5 times the risk of developing metabolic syndrome five years later.

The researchers point out that if LDL particles are severely damaged, the body recognizes them and excretes them. But those minimally oxidized are not as easily recognized. The test they devised identifies minimally oxidized LDL particles, which they theorize are the ones that are most likely to be incorporated into plaque and cause health problems.

Everybody loves chocolate. But do you know that even though it might seem like it surely can’t be good for you that in fact it really is. In small quantities that is, this tasty treat can do much to help your heart and even prevent heart disease. First of all chocolate is a plant product. It is made from the cacao bean that comes from a tree. Plants do not produce cholesterol, only animals do. Additionally dark colored plants are known to have many health benefits one of which is flavonoids. Flavonoids act as antioxidants which protect the body by neutralizing free radicals (charged chemicals which are byproducts of body processes). Free radicals roam the bloodstream and when they encounter LDL particles (bad cholesterol), they can oxidize them. In their oxidized state, LDL particles can more easily burrow into the artery-cell walls and hasten hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times as many as found in strawberries). It has been shown to reduce LDL levels by as much as 10 percent.

Dark chocolate does contain fats, but only about one third of them are harmful to the arteries.
Since dark chocolate is high in calories, consumption should be limited to 100 grams a day or about 3.5 ounces. One bar of dark chocolate has about 400 calories, so if you eat ½ a bar a day you may balance your diet by eating less of something else.

Note – avoid eating your dark chocolate with milk, because milk can prevent the antioxidants from being absorbed by the body.

Look for dark chocolate bars with high-cocoa content. High-cocoa content assures that the bar is loaded with a flavonoid called epicatechin which prevents cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduces the risk of blood clots, and slows down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries.