Cholesterol-Free Food

Do you know that cholesterol is already present in your body? The liver produces cholesterol that your body needs and you get cholesterol as well, from the type of food that you eat. Cholesterol is needed in your body, because, first and foremost, it helps make vitamin D which is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. The liver and kidney help convert vitamin D to its active hormone form. You can also get vitamin D from being exposed to the ultra violet rays of the sun.

There are actually two types of cholesterol in your body, one that is good, and that provides good results to your body; but the other one is bad and would only bring about ill health. For cholesterol to fully be absorbed and take care of our body, it needs to travel through the bloodstream, but it has to pair up with proteins, called lipoprotein. So, you need to be introduced to LDL and HDL. They are 2 of the most important lipoproteins in the body. LDL, which means Low Density Lipoprotein, the carrier of cholesterol in the blood, and HDL, High Density Lipoprotein, which carries around 1/3 to 1/4 of blood cholesterol, and it carries it back to the liver so it can be processed and sent back to the body. LDL which is considered bad cholesterol as it has more cholesterol, compared to your HDL, which has more proteins, tends to block and clog blood vessels, thus keeping blood from flowing freely through the body.

What types of foods are cholesterol-free?

Here are some suggested ways of eating better to a healthier you. Eat a diet that has low cholesterol content, like fruits, vegetables, whole grain (bread and cereals are good examples of this), beans and fish. Should you cook any type of food, try to use olive oil instead of your usual cooking oil. You can even use olive oil instead of butter or margarine. Try broiling, roasting, boiling, baking or steaming, to your usual frying when you cook food.

You need milk, so instead of whole milk, go for low fat or even go non fat milk. They contain the same nutrients, with less fat. You need egg, but go for the egg whites.

For snacks, go for gelatin, low fat yoghurt, fruits, low fat dips, and low fat cookies. You need meat for protein, but go for lean meat. The skin of the meat has a lot of cholesterol.

If you will notice, most of the foods suggested are with the "low this", "low that"... Food manufacturers know how important it is to sell and manufacture food that is healthy. The net, brochures, TV ads are constantly reminding everyone to eat healthy.

You can even have a DIY, do it yourself diet. Make sure you remember that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A maxim that cleverly sums it up says "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a beggar". Breakfast provides you the fuel to function throughout the day, so make sure you choose the food that you eat that is healthy and beneficial to your body.

You benefit the most with a healthy lifestyle.