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High cholesterol puts you at risk of life-threatening medical conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. To better understand the risk, perhaps we should understand what cholesterol is and its functions.
Cholesterol is the waxy substance in your blood that your body needs to build healthy cells. This cholesterol could come from the food you eat and your liver, which produces it.
However, high levels of cholesterol in your blood is not healthy. And, that is because, with high cholesterol, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels, and when they grow, it will make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. These deposits can also break suddenly and form a clot that causes a heart attack or a stroke.
While heredity is a factor for having high cholesterol, unhealthy lifestyle choices could also contribute to it, such as poor diet.
What makes having high cholesterol dangerous is that it has no symptoms, so usually it is already late when you find out, unless you regularly go for blood tests.
So, it is best to be mindful of your diet if you want to have a healthier and longer life.
There are food that you can add or swap that would help in lowering the levels of your cholesterol.
Legumes such as beans, lentils, pulses, and chickpeas in your diet can help because they are high in fibre, minerals, and protein.
According to the Daily Express, consuming a half cup of legumes every day could lower your cholesterol by an average of 6.6 mg/dl.
You can have the legumes instead of processed meat, rice or wheat.
Another food that you can have in your diet are avocados. Not only is this fruit high in nutrients and fiber but is is also rich in monounsaturated fats.
Another food that is also rich in monounsaturated fats is nuts. They are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Thus, nuts can be a good replacement for junk food in your snacks.
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