So, cholesterol - the way it's talked about you'd think it was a bad thing. It's actually an essential substance, and our bodies wouldn't function without it. Too much cholesterol, however, is of course not good for us - and for our health's sake it's always best to try and keep our levels low. A common misconception is that certain foods are 'high in cholesterol' and therefore automatically bad for us, but this isn't the whole story. Dietary cholesterol - found in foods like eggs, prawns, liver and kidney - actually doesn't have much effect on blood cholesterol. So it's actually okay to eat these foods in moderation (unless of course you've been advised otherwise by a medical professional). So, we don't have to avoid food containing cholesterol in order to maintain healthy cholesterol levels within the bloodstream. It's more about reducing the amount of saturated fat we eat. Yes, it's the usual dietary suspects, unfortunately: pies, sausages, black pudding, butter, cream, and so on - we should either avoid these entirely or only eat them in small amounts. Interestingly, in the news recently it's been reported that a diet containing oats, nuts and lentils may have an additional effect in reducing cholesterol alongside cutting the intake of saturated fats. Research in Canada has found that a group of people who actively followed a diet rich in these foods showed a significant drop in blood cholesterol after six months. But it's not a quick fix - a bowl of porridge or a handful of nuts won't reverse the effects of a bad diet! If you're thinking about keeping cholesterol low then some foods you can think about eating more of or starting to include in your diet would be: Oatmeal: makes a great breakfast, even nicer if you mix in some blueberries Lentils: very widely used in French and Italian cooking and provide a great accompaniment to many meat dishes, as well as forming the basis of many vegetarian ones, lentils are a handy thing to keep in the store cupboard , and it's great to know that they're a healthy ingredient. Of course, one of the important things in any diet is moderation, so just as important as getting our share of the healthy stuff like pulses (also known as legumes), oatmeal and nuts, it's just as important to keep our consumption of butter, cream and fatty meats low. It's also worth having a look at some nutrition and health sites to get an idea of what foods contain saturated fats so you know which foods you need to think about reducing your intake of. You can also easily find information online about foods containing unsaturated fats such as olive oil which are a healthier alternative for cooking.
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