SO: I'm at that place in my life where what I eat can have disastrous effects on me and my aging body lah. Just last night, Chuan pontificated on foods low in oxalates: foods that are not triggered to produce calcium stones in your kidneys or bladder.
Chuan had a nasty bout of it a couple of years ago - the pain is not very funny he says, and I believe him - so he's into keeping safe about 'stones' lah.
Me? I'm a fatty lah - that's why the 'fat Pat' posts, and the never-ending quest to stay fit and healthy that's too often derailed by my chocolate eating self.
Back to cholesterol lowing foods, which I'd much prefer to taking statins which I've read up on and are kinda scary, to say the least. I don't know how such medication can be happily shoved down people's throats, and not a bleep outa anyone. Pharmaceutical companies are the way to go if you want to get rich, I guess....
The thing to do is to eat yourself into wellness, rather than take a drug to do that for you. That works for me anytime. Below, is some of the stuff I found online, that seems sorta common sense:
- High fibre is the keyword here: Eat whole grain stuff rather than the processed stuff. If you like bread, go for a real wholemeal bread. A lot of the stuff sold on our shop-shelves is just ordinary flour, decorated with whole meal! So, we need to be wary. Or make your own bread. I do, sometimes, it's very satisfying to do, but a lot of hard work. Also in this category would be beans and other vegetables, fruit and oatmeal.
- Eat fish for their omega-3 fatty acids. These are usually cold-water fish, I'm told. So what about our local fish? Must ask the fisherman when he comes home! I guess if we can't get our hands on the right fish, or you're allergic to fish and seafood like I am, you could take a supplement :)
- Read labels, and look out for stuff that say 'hydrogenated oil' - these things are the worst, for they actually increase LDL levels (that's the bad cholesterol, folks). Margarine is a culprit here. If you serve it at your table, give yourself a slap for not being up-to-date on the latest about good fats and bad fats!
- Nuts are good at lowering cholesterol: so grab a handful and chew away. The contain oil, but the good kind. There's no mention of peanuts, so I'll have to look that up - but peanuts are high in oxalates, so you won't find them in my house lah.
One site I visited suggested starting off a meal with soup - not a fatty and unhealthy one, of course, but a clear soup, filled with some vegetables of choice. The soup sorta 'washes out' the stomach, and gets it ready for the food to come. I would think it would also nip your hunger, and you'd probably eat less. Hmmm, sounds like a plan . . . .
There are lots of things we can do to get on the cholesterol-lowering bandwagon, all you have to do is google 'cholesterol lowering foods', and a whole host of sites will pop up. There is choice: we can actually do something about how and what we are. Or, we can pop a statin.
Now, was the this the most boring post I've ever done? Ai-yaiyai-yaiyai, I think it was! Hahahah! But I just wanted to find some fellow sufferers who'd do some cholesterol-lowering work with me lah :)
2 comments:
But cholesterol could be a hereditary problem, so no amount of healthy eating could help you lower your bad cholesterol levels.
Otherwise, how do you explain my vegan friends (cholesterol being purely animal-derived) who have problems with their cholesterol levels?
Jake is on Statin and I don't like to nag my best buddy but I do keep an eye on him and what he's eating. I've had enough of having to rush him to hospital or meet him in hospital after work -- it's not that it's inconvenient to me -- it's just that it is very, very scary for me to see my best friend laid up in hospital. Plus, he's only 33.
Yes, you are right, E. It is pre-determined by our genes. That's what I read eons ago. Our bodies manufacture the cholesterol that we need, and the excess that registers in our blood tests come from that, not the egg-yolk and chee yoke that we chowed down.
But even so, trying to eat healthy cannot be bad. And these foods are good at mopping up mild excesses. And those of us who're not like Jake, can choose to go the dietary way, rather than the pill-popping way.
Statins leave horrid side effects, and we should only take them if we've got no other choice.
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