Managing Your Risk Factors
According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 98.6 million Americans have total blood cholesterol higher than 200 mg/dl, the diagnostic threshold for having high cholesterol. The first step your doctor will advise is to have a good look at your diet. The average American diet of people on the go is loaded with calories, saturated fat, trans fats and sodium. Given that high cholesterol is one of the six risk factors for heart disease (along with hypertension, obesity, diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle and cigarette smoking), lowering the cholesterol in your diet is one of the easiest and most effective places to start in reducing your risk for heart disease.
Lowering Cholesterol the Natural Way
While there are a number of effective prescription drugs you can take to lower your cholesterol, it is usually not the best place to start. Even the most popular drugs like statins, resins and cholesterol absorption drugs all have side effects. Depending on how high your cholesterol is, most internists and registered dietitians will recommend taking steps to modify your diet before beginning life-long drug therapy. One of the best places to start is by looking at the amount of fat in your diet. Dietary fat can be classified into saturated and trans fats of animal origin, mono- and polyunsaturated fat. One good source of monounsaturated fat is the avocado. While it is true that avocados are high in calories, the monounsaturated fat has the dual advantage of lowering your LDL or "bad" cholesterol while raising your HDL, or "good" cholesterol.
Beta-Sitosterol
Avocados have also been found to be rich in beta-sitosterols. Beta-sitosterols is a plant alcohol that is found in many types of plants, but it is especially abundant in avocados. A 3-oz. serving of avocado contains more than 76 mg beta-sitosterol. Many vegetarians suggest eating more than 400 mg of beta-sitosterol a day, a possible reason for their lower risk of heart disease. One 1995 French study published in the "Annals of Nutritional Metabolism" found that a group of healthy people reduced their cholesterol levels by 10 percent after including beta-sitosterol in their diet for a month.
