5 Things You Need to Know About Low Carb Diets And Cholesterol

1. Eggstra Cholesterol

Low carb diets and cholesterol are a controversial discussion. Eating dietary cholesterol cannot create cholesterol in the body. Studying people's eating habits recently shattered the myths surrounding bad cholesterol levels. The medical community vilified low carbohydrate diets for increasing cholesterol levels. The principles of a low carb diet and low cholesterol diet are the same. The egg is a good example. Research found that people who ate a lot of eggs, as many low carb dieters do, were found to have lower bad cholesterol levels than people who ate high carbohydrate foods to excess.

2. You Are What You Eat

We have both good and bad cholesterol in our bodies. Family history genetically predisposes some people to create more bad cholesterol than others and require medication. For the rest of us, diet controls cholesterol levels successfully. We know the body uses carbohydrates as energy before accessing stores of glycogen or body fat. Excess carbohydrates are chosen first, leaving the fat we eat in a meal searching for a storage place. Bad cholesterol, or LDL, serves as a transporter of the fat. They measure the fat itself medically as a triglyceride. Triglyceride levels are the best indicators of heart health.

3. Ratio Rationale

The effects of a low carb diet on cholesterol is ultimately healthy. HDL, or high density lipoprotein, grabs extra cholesterol in the body and moves it to the liver for disposal out of the body. LDL, low density lipoprotein, is also a transporter but deposits the cholesterol in tissues and arteries. The study of cholesterol divides experts on how to use the levels as an indicator of health. Generally, a higher level of good cholesterol, or HDL, in comparison to LDL is good. Low carbohydrate diets increase cholesterol levels, but proponents argue that even if the diet increases LDL, it increases the good cholesterol as well. Therefore, good cholesterol is constantly ridding the body of bad cholesterol and decreasing the risk of heart disease.

4. Oatmeal Versus Steak

The traditional medical and nutritional community recommend eating more complex carbohydrates instead of simple carbohydrates to improve cholesterol ratios. The low carbohydrate community argues that all carbohydrates should be reduced. A study at Duke University found that a low-carb diet decreased triglycerides and increased good HDL. The low fat diet decreased total cholesterol and triglyceride level. The University of Pennsylvania conducted a similar study that lasted an entire year. At the end, the low carb, cholesterol lowering diet group had a greater increase in good cholesterol and bigger decrease in triglyceride levels.

5. Protein Diet For Health

You can study the low carb diet effect on cholesterol for yourself. To conduct an experiment, go to the doctor and get your cholesterol and triglyceride levels checked. Eat a low carbohydrate diet of any kind that consists of protein and non-starchy vegetables. After 2 months get your cholesterol levels checked again.

Last updated on: Nov 18, 2009

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