Microwave Popcorn Can Be Terribly Harmful

 

 

 

 

 

    

Deliciously Dangerous: Why Microwave Popcorn Can Be Terribly Harmful

Pragati Shukla , NDTV  |  Updated: August 12, 2015 

 

You know that hypnotizingly lovely smell that fills up the room when you make a fresh batch of popcorn in the microwave? Yeah, that may not be as good as you might think. That enchanting smell is actually a chemical called diacetyl, a synthetic butter flavoring. Why is it so bad, you ask? 

According to a research published in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, inhaling butter-flavouring chemical mixtures has been linked with severe obstructive lung disease commonly known as 'popcorn lung.’ Diacetyl is harmless when consumed, but when heated to high temperatures, diacetyl vaporizes and becomes toxic.

What’s Going on in Those Factories?
In fact, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an arm of the Centers for Disease Control, had begun investigating people who worked in microwave popcorn factories who had developed bronchiolitis obliterans (a lung disease characterized by fixed airway obstruction) and the results revealed the cause of the disease was something back at the factory - specifically exposure to an artificial flavoring agent: 2,3-butanedione or diacetyl. It was evident ‘popcorn lung’ was a problem, with NIOSH even issuing a health alert for workers, complete with preventive steps and an exposure limit guideline.

Chemicals, Chemicals Everywhere
Another problem is the presence of chemicals like perfluoroalkyls, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) which are used to line the popcorn bags to prevent grease from soaking the bag wet. On heating, these chemicals fuse into the popcorn you eat. They’re termed ‘likely carcinogens’ by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which cause a host of health nightmares. They mess up your endocrine system, causes thyroid issues, bladder cancer and much more.

Research Says
A study in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology from researchers from the University of Minnesota reveal a possible link between diacetyl, via its impact on a brain protein and Alzheimer’s disease. Another study that appeared in Mercola says -

“Researchers conducting test-tube studies revealed that diacetyl has several concerning properties for brain health. Not only can it pass through the blood-brain barrier, which is intended to help keep toxins out of your brain, but it can also cause brain proteins to misfold into the Alzheimer's-linked form known as beta amyloid. It also inhibits mechanisms that help to naturally clear the dangerous beta amyloid from your brain.

It's not known at this time whether eating diacetyl-containing foods (it's used not only in microwave popcorn but also in other snack foods, baked goods, pet foods, some fast foods and other food products) increases your risk of Alzheimer's, but the finding that it may contribute to brain plaques linked to Alzheimer's at very low concentrations is concerning, to say the least.”

A Sweet Price to Pay
Probably the most famous case was that of 59-year old Wayne Watson who took home $7.2 million from three companies as damages caused by microwave popcorn. He had been diagnosed with a rare case of irreversible lung disease, which had restricted his air flow by about 60 percent.  His lawyers effectively argued that this disease was a direct result of Watson inhaling toxic fumes and the artificial butter smell of microwave popcorn, which he consumed daily for over 10 years.

Warnings, What Warnings?
A quick look at the labels of most popcorn brands gives way to an unpleasant story. Apart from complex, difficult to understand ingredients, there is no mention of diacetyl or any warning whatsoever. At most, the labels would say ‘natural and artificial flavouring.’ In the past, at large, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considered diacetyl safe for consumption. Diacetyl had also escaped FDA regulation because the after effects are to do with respiration and not indigestion. However, FDA is reviewing and rolling out new warnings. However, what the FDA did recently was pass a rule banning trans fats in all food items. The FDA said in its statement "there is no safe level of consumption of artificial trans fat" and gave three years to companies to eliminate the ingredient from their products. Trans fats are commonly found in butter popcorn so that's one unhealthy ingredient off the list.

Grim Substitutes
In the face of so much backlash, a lot of microwave popcorn manufacturers have said they’ll be replacing diacetyl with another flavoring. But what will this flavouring be? Many experts fear the alternatives won’t be any better. An animal study published in American Journal of Pathology resonates with this thought. The researchers found that 2,3-pentanedione, a diacetyl substitute caused similar problems to the lung in rats and caused gene alternations in their brains.

Other Health Concerns
Trans fats, a byproduct of partially hydrogenated oils, is popular among food manufacturers as it gives food a distinctive taste, texture and also increases product shelf life. However, Trans fats is associated with many health problems – it increases bad cholesterol and builds up plaque in the arteries – which leads to coronary artery disease and heart attacks. Trans fats has been a go-to ingredient for microwave popcorn companies for its high melting point, as it keeps the fat in oil solid till the package is heated. Conversely, FDA has taken steps to ban, or limit, the use of trans fat in United States forcing food companies to come up with substitutes. Also, another matter of concern is the crazy amount of salt in these packs.

Don’t Give Up, Popcorn Lover
Away from the chemicals and grime, it’s far easier and healthier to make your own popcorn at home. You can either put kernels in a brown paper bag and lay it flat in a microwave or put them in a glass bowl covered with a plate for six and a half minutes on high. You don’t even need a microwave. A pan or a pressure cooker works just as good, if not better. The best part about homemade popcorn? Go ahead and ask your lungs to give it a big whiff and inhale in all that homemade goodness.

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Living with a sense of purpose in life

Conclusion:

A sense of purpose in life also gives you this considerable advantage:

"People with a sense of purpose in life have a lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease."

The conclusions come from over 136,000 people who took part in 10 different studies.

Participants in the studies were mostly from the US and Japan.


The US studies asked people:

• how useful they felt to others,
• about their sense of purpose, and
• the meaning they got out of life.

The Japanese studies asked people about ‘ikigai’ or whether their life was worth living.
The participants, whose average age was 67, were tracked for around 7 years.

During that time almost 20,000 died. 
But, amongst those with a strong sense of purpose or high ‘ikigai’, the risk of death was one-fifth lower.

Despite the link between sense of purpose and health being so intuitive, scientists are not sure of the mechanism.

Sense of purpose is likely to improve health by strengthening the body against stress.

It is also likely to be linked to healthier behaviours.

Dr. Alan Rozanski, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Of note, having a strong sense of life purpose has long been postulated to be an important dimension of life, providing people with a sense of vitality motivation and resilience.

Nevertheless, the medical implications of living with a high or low sense of life purpose have only recently caught the attention of investigators.

The current findings are important because they may open up new potential interventions for helping people to promote their health and sense of well-being.”

This research on links between sense of purpose in life and longevity is getting stronger all the time:

• “A 2009 study of 1,238 elderly people found that those with a sense of purpose lived longer.
• A 2010 study of 900 older adults found that those with a greater sense of purpose were much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
• Survey data often links a sense of purpose in life with increased happiness.

No matter what your age, then, it’s worth thinking about what gives your life meaning.”



Read More:

Find out what kinds of things people say give their lives meaning.

Here’s an exercise for increasing meaningfulness

And a study finding that feeling you belong increases the sense of meaning.

The study was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine (Cohen et al., 2015).




A sense of purpose in life
Link: http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/12/here-is-why-a-sense-of-purpose-in-life-is-important-for-health

THE NEW WORLD DISORDER

U.N. declares junk food a 'human rights' issue

Says countries failing to meet globally agreed upon nutrition

 

 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. expert says junk food is a human rights concern.
Hilal Elver, the U.N.’s special representative on the right to food, said Tuesday the rise of industrial food production combined with trade liberalization has allowed large corporations to flood the global market with cheap, nutrient-poor foods that force poor people to choose between economic viability and nutrition, effectively violating their right to adequate food.
“Within the human rights framework, states are obliged to ensure effective measures to regulate the food industry, ensure that nutrition policymaking spaces are free from private sector influence and implement comprehensive policies that combat malnutrition in all its forms,” she said.

Read the full story ›

 

 

image: http://www.wnd.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-print/images/printer_famfamfam.gif

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/10/u-n-declares-junk-food-a-human-rights-issue/#vtpG95RYg8i5WhuQ.99

 

 Nutrition

Why You Need to Stop Eating Egg Whites

• Mandy Oaklander @mandyoaklander

Oct. 25, 2016

Illustration by Lauren Margit Jones for TIME

Eat your yolks, folks

Scan the “healthy” section of a brunch menu and there you’ll find it: the world’s saddest order, the egg white omelet. This time will be different, you think, these things aren’t so bad, but then you stare down at the flat, pale pancake of liquid protein and think to yourself: Why do I do this to myself?
You do it because you were told to. We all were. Until just recently, experts warned that dietary cholesterol causes spikes in blood cholesterol, which in turn clogs arteries and hurts the heart. Cholesterol is found in the yellows, not the whites, so down the drain went the yolks.

Left behind are a wobbly mix of water, protein, some vitamins and little else. These whites are also sold in one-ingredient cartons, pasteurized so they can be eaten raw. (That’s not the case for shell egg substitutes, like Egg Beaters Original, which come with egg whites but cut out cholesterol by mimicking the yolk with natural flavor and color, vegetable gums, maltodextrin and many other added ingredients.)

But there’s good reason not to fear the yolks. Scientific research has vindicated dietary cholesterol, finding that eating cholesterol has no real impact on cholesterol metabolism. That is, eating foods high in cholesterol does not mean you’ll develop high cholesterol. Some evidence suggests that eggs might even be beneficial for cholesterol by raising levels of HDL cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol that’s linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

Egg yolks contain a vibrant mix of saturated and unsaturated fat—another nutrient that, when it comes from a healthy whole food source, is unfairly slandered. Yolks have a good helping of vitamin E, one of the nutrients Americans eat too little of. But the real case for egg yolks can be made by their abundance of carotenoids, nutrients in plants and animal fats that give things like egg yolks (and even autumn leaves) their yellow color. Egg yolks are rich in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which help eye health and protect against inflammation.

Sure, you can find carotenoids in more virtuous places, like fruits and vegetables. But egg yolks have an edge. Carotenoids need to be eaten with fat in order for the body to more fully absorb them, and a whole egg is the total package. Eat them, and you’ll get more of these nutrients—not just from the eggs, but from the stuff you eat it with, too. Two large eggs provide 143 calories, 13 grams of protein and almost 10 grams of fat.

A study last year found that when people ate eggs on a raw vegetable salad, their bodies absorbed about 9 times the carotenoids, including lutein and zeaxanthin from the eggs and alpha carotene, beta carotene and lycopene from the veggies. A new one from the same authors found the same effect on vitamin E absorption as well.

Americans are notoriously bad at eating vegetables; a full 87% of them eat less than the recommended amount. If they can wring more nutrients from those they do eat by adding an egg, yolks could do a lot of good, says Purdue University nutrition researcher and study author Jung Eun Kim. “There’s no fat in egg white, so you are not going to observe the same effect.”
So next time you crack open an egg, don’t let the fatty, cholesterol-choked yolk slip away. Mix it in for good texture—and even better health.

Link: http://time.com/4536939/egg-white-yolk-cholesterol/?xid=newsletter-brief 

This puts a new spin on responsibility...

Fathers drinking: Also responsible for fetal disorders?

Date:

February 14, 2014

Source:

Taylor & Francis

Summary:

Maternal exposure to alcohol in-utero is a known risk and cause of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). FAS children suffer significant problems such as retarded intellect, stunted growth and nervous system abnormalities, social problems and isolation. Until now, fathers have not had a causal link to such disabilities. Ground breaking new research has been revealed which shows dads may have more accountability.

 

 

FULL STORY

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The authors believe alcohol consumption affects genes in sperm which are responsible for normal fetal development.

Credit: © Dario Lo Presti / Fotolia

 

 

Maternal exposure to alcohol in-utero is a known risk and cause of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. FAS children suffer significant problems such as retarded intellect, stunted growth and nervous system abnormalities, social problems and isolation. Until now Fathers have not had a causal link to such disabilities. Ground breaking new research has been revealed which shows Dads may have more accountability.

Published in Animal Cells and Systems, researchers studied male mice exposed to varying concentrations of alcohol and one control group exposed only to saline. After exposure the mice were mated and resulting fetuses examined. The findings revealed previously unknown and riveting evidence that paternal alcohol consumption can directly affect fetal development.

A number of fetuses sired by males exposed to alcohol suffered abnormal organ development and or brain development. Those in the saline group were normal. So, can developmental abnormalities be predetermined at fertilization? This research proves so. The authors believe alcohol consumption affects genes in sperm which are responsible for normal fetal development.

Until now fathers' lifestyle choices have not seen any repercussion on their unborn children. This ground-breaking research provides the first definitive evidence that fathers' drinking habits pre-conception can cause significant fetal abnormalities.

---

Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Taylor & Francis. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Hye Jeong Lee, Jae-Sung Ryu, Na Young Choi, Yo Seph Park, Yong Il Kim, Dong Wook Han, Kisung Ko, Chan Young Shin, Han Sung Hwang, Kyung-Sun Kang, Kinarm Ko. Transgenerational effects of paternal alcohol exposure in mouse offspring. Animal Cells and Systems, 2013; 17 (6): 429 DOI: 10.1080/19768354.2013.865675

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Cite This Page:

• MLA
• APA
• Chicago

Taylor & Francis. "Fathers drinking: Also responsible for fetal disorders?." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 February 2014. .

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Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140214075405.htm

Visceral Fat

   Tuomas Marttila via Getty Images

 

Why The Fat You Can See Isn’t The Fat You Should Worry About

All body fat is not created equal.

• Erin Schumaker Healthy Living Editor, The Huffington Post

 

In reality, the area of your body where you store your fat may be a better predictor of health -- regardless of your body mass index.
"All fat is not the same," said Dr. Virend Somers, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Fat directly under the skin -- the stuff we can see -- isn't necessarily harmful.
It's the invisible fat that we need to be concerned about.
"The fat inside is the one that we’re realizing is harmful," Somer said. "It’s much more metabolically active and produces all kinds of bad things. It’s the kind of fat that’s linked to high cardiovascular risk."

The difference between visible and invisible fat

While obesity is linked to myriad health problems, including coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, all fat is not created equal.
Subcutaneous fat is the visible kind that we're used to seeing, the stuff that you can pinch on your stomach or thighs. This type of fat lives under the skin, and is relatively safe, health-wise. Pear-shaped people, who have smaller waists and store weight in their hips, also tend to have more subcutaneous fat.
Apple-shaped people, who store weight around their mid-sections, tend to have more visceral fat. Visceral fat is internal, and you can't usually tell if someone has it just by looking. Visceral fat collects around organs such as the stomach, intestine, spleen and kidneys.
"You don’t see this fat early on," Somers explained. If you're lean and you start putting on weight, without seeing any visible outward changes, that could be visceral fat. "Then suddenly it starts bulging out and that’s when the belly starts hanging out," he said.

But all is not lost if you're 'apple' shaped

 

  via Getty Images

Luckily for those who carry their pounds around their mid-sections, losing just a small amount of weight -- even just 10 pounds -- can make a huge difference in health outcomes, and can lower your risk for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
A small 2010 study compared two groups of young, healthy-weight participants. One group maintained their weight over eight weeks, but researchers overfed the second group, causing them to gain about 10 pounds each on average. The health results, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, were striking.
Among the fat-gain group, some participants gained more visceral fat and some gained more subcutaneous fat. Those who gained the most visceral fat, about a third of participants, saw the biggest deterioration in blood pressure and in endothelial function, a measure of how well the blood vessels are working. At the end of the 16 weeks of the study, when the visceral fat-gainers had lost the excess weight, their endothelial function returned to normal.
Those who gained mostly subcutaneous fat didn't see any significant change in endothelial function.
"They didn’t look that different," Somers, one of authors of the study, said of the participants' modest weight gain. "It’s not merely a function of getting fat. It’s where the fat goes."

How do I know if I have visceral fat?

Unfortunately, the body-fat scale at your gym, which uses a method called bioelectrical impedance analysis, isn't especially accurate. The gold standards for visceral fat analysis include MRIs, CT scans and hydrostatic water weighing, which don't come cheap. If you're not interested in investing in a pricey test or two, a good rough proxy is to calculate your waist-to-hip ratio. For men, the ratio should be no higher than 0.90, for women, no higher than 0.83.
Don't despair if the resulting number isn't what you'd hoped -- it's easy enough to start addressing the problem, because "Exercise disproportionately targets visceral fat,” Gary R. Hunter, a professor of human studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told the New York Times in 2015.
Hunter's research bears this out. A 2010 study published in the journal Obesity found that sedentary women who started a twice-weekly, 40-minute exercise regimen lost 10 percent of their visceral fat during the year that they were enrolled in the study.


Have a question for Healthy Living? Get in touch here and we'll do our best to ask the experts and get back to you.

"Ask Healthy Living" is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Please consult a qualified health care professional for personalized medical advice.

Link: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1rmpD7/:1sOFtIzmC:AqJ3R6br/www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/difference-between-visceral-and-subcutaneous-fat_us_56d48b65e4b0bf0dab32e46f

Pornography

‘You cannot accept any pornography in your man’s life’: Terry Crews reveals his fight with porn addiction

 

Sadaf Ahsan | February 24, 2016 

In a series of video confessions that could one day become educational tools, former NFL player and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews has taken it upon himself to reveal his “dirty little secret” — a porn addiction.

Crews actually first revealed his addiction two years ago in his memoir, titled Manhood. And in an interview with Wendy Williams to promote the book, he admitted, “I was addicted to pornography since I was 12 years old. My father was addicted to alcohol and my mother was addicted to religion. So what happens is you had an addictive household.” 
“It messed up my life in a lot of ways,” he said of pornography...
After entering rehab six years ago, Crews changed his ways and now firmly believes porn “changes the way you think about people. People become objects. People become body parts. People become things to be used rather than people to be loved.”
He meant to share his personal experiences as a “servant to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” while touching on masculine pride and porn being “an intimacy killer.”

Despite his reveal being layered with his own moral views, Crews is helping to put the message out there that addiction doesn’t have to be such a secret in your fight to conquer it.

 Link: http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/celebrity/you-cannot-accept-any-pornography-in-your-mans-life-terry-crews-reveals-his-fight-with-porn-addiction

Topics: Arts, Celebrity, Need to Know, Pornography, Sexual Addiction, Terry Crews

World Fatter

 

Startling growth in obesity over past 20 years

Just when you thought the obesity crisis couldn't get worse:

To Your Health

America’s getting even fatter: 

Startling growth in obesity over past 20 years

By Ariana Eunjung Cha

 June 22, 2015 

 

New obesity statistics are out for the United States, and they show that nearly two-thirds of adults are at an unhealthy weight.

An analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday found that 75 percent of men and 67 percent of women ages 25 and older are now overweight or obese. That's a startling shift from 20 years ago when 63 percent of men and 55 percent of women were overweight or obese and a depressing sign that campaigns to get Americans to eat healthier and exercise more may be failing.

Based on information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 67.6 million Americans were obese and 65.2 million overweight as of 2012. The CDC defines obese as having a body mass index of 30 or higher, and overweight as a body mass index of between 25 and 29.9.

This marks the first time that Americans who are obese outnumber those who are overweight.

More than one-third (35.7 percent) of adults are considered to be obese. More than 1 in 20 (6.3 percent) have extreme obesity. Almost 3 in 4 men (74 percent) are considered to be overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity is similar for both men and women (about 36 percent).

Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/ambianc-the-worlds-longest-ever-film-gets-a-seven-hour-trailer-a6989561.html

 

 

Overweight and Obesity Statistics | National Institute of Diabetes ... 

 http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/Pages/overweight-obesity-statistics.aspx

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

America's getting even fatter: Startling growth in obesity over ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../2015/.../americas-getting-even-fatter-st...

 

Obesity Epidemic explained by “accumulative maternal effects”

The real reason that people are obese:

[The real reason that people are obese]


Observation:
 

The activity levels of grandmothers and mothers during pregnancy determined the fatness of future generations. 

But was my observation correct? 

And if so, what were the mechanisms?

Non-genetic evolution is the primary determinant of obesity — not gluttony, fast food or genes. 

The best solution to the obesity epidemic is to encourage would-be mothers to increase their levels of physical activity so that they can prepare their metabolism for pregnancy and have leaner, healthier children.

As it turned out, the idea that the uterine environment affects the fetus is commonplace in evolutionary biology and has been observed across many species. 

Known as “accumulative maternal effects,” it describes how a mother’s age, size, fat stores and behavior, including physical activity, affect not only her health and metabolism but also that of future generations.

Archer is a physiologist and obesity theorist at the Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham. This article was produced by New Scientist.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-real-reason-that-people-are-obese/2015/06/15/e3841e56-eaa7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html

Misty Copeland

"Ballet, something pure in this Crazy World" --Misty Copeland
 

Foods that will cut your cholesterol

The six foods that will cut your cholesterol in just three months... and you don't have to give up cheese, chocolate or breakfast eggs

• A majority of Britons, 60 per cent, have unhealthy cholesterol levels
• Managing this does not have to be hard and including these foods is a start
• Add 'smart foods', fibres, nuts, soya, healthy oils and oats to your diet

By Victoria Fletcher

Published: 2 February 2013 | Updated: 16:49 GMT, 23 May 2014 

 

Your cholesterol is too high. Well, perhaps not specifically you, but thousands of Britons have this news broken to them by doctors every day. We all have an amount of this special type of fat in our blood. It is essential for many bodily functions, but most of us – 60 per cent  – have too much.

High cholesterol is a key factor in developing heart disease, which claims three times more lives than breast cancer and twice as many as lung cancer. The good news is that lowering your cholesterol is the biggest thing you can do to reduce your risk. 

It’s something TV personality Gabby Logan, for one, is keen to promote. ‘A key risk factor for heart disease is high cholesterol but you can protect yourself with simple changes to lifestyle and diet,’ says Gabby, who is supporting the British Heart Foundation Love Your Heart campaign.

The big six: TV sports presenter Gabby Logan, right, is backing the drive to lower Britain's cholesterol using these six food groups

But just how can you do this? Much of the health advice on the matter, including that on the NHS Eat Well site, is vague, leading to many misconceptions and myths. 

So can diet alone be used to bring down high cholesterol – or should we leave it all to statins? 

The answer for very many people is yes, you CAN reduce your levels significantly through making changes in your diet. Should we stop eating eggs? Aren’t they high in cholesterol?  In fact, the answer is no. No food  is prohibited, so you can still eat cheese, red meat and chocolate, within the limits of a low-fat diet.

Confusingly, countless foods carry labels claiming they can protect your heart or cut cholesterol. They work, but you have to take them in  a specific way to reap the benefits. To find out what we should – and shouldn’t – be eating to lower cholesterol levels, we spoke to leading diet and heart health experts. 

Now turn over for our brilliantly simple step-by-step guide – which includes building six food types into your diet – and you may be able to lower your reading by up to 20 per cent in three months . . .

1. SMART FOODS

WHAT
These include Flora pro.activ and Benecol yogurt shots, as well as other products containing stanols and sterols. These naturally occurring molecules, which are found in plants, block the absorption of dietary cholesterol, which is then excreted with other waste.

PROOF
Studies have shown that plant sterols reduce cholesterol levels by seven to ten per cent within three weeks, as part of a diet low in saturated fat.
DOSE
You need to consume 2g in one go alongside your biggest meal of the day, each day, to get the full effect. 

The best form is the yogurt shot drinks that provide this amount of plant sterols alongside just under 40 calories and 1.4g of fat.  

You need to eat six teaspoons of fortified margarine to get the same amount of sterols, which delivers 150 calories and 18g of fat, although low-fat margarines  with sterols are now also available.

EXPERT ADVICE
Drink with your main meal as sterols reduce the amount of fat absorbed. ‘A shot with your morning coffee or little bits of margarine through the day will not produce the same benefits,’ says Catherine Collins, principal dietician at St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust.

2. FIBRE

WHAT
The high fermentable-fibre content of beans and pulses means that they cannot be digested easily by the gut. This fibre binds to cholesterol so that it is removed through waste.  

High-fibre bread can be added to the  diet to boost fibre intake further.

PROOF
A meta-analysis of 67 studies on dietary fibre and cholesterol levels revealed that consuming more fibre helped reduce ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol by a small but significant amount. 

Fibrous foods such as beans  also trick the body into absorbing less saturated fat, which can help control weight and protect arteries from heart disease.

DOSE
Eighteen grams a day. Around 5g will come from oat-based products and you can get the rest from just a slice of high-fibre toast and two tablespoons of beans. Fruit and veg will also boost fibre intake.

EXPERT ADVICE
Just swapping white bread for wholemeal can lower cholesterol levels, a manageable step for everyone. 

‘It’s easy for most people to add fibre to their diet,’ says Linda Main, of the cholesterol charity HEART UK.

3. NUTS

WHAT
Most nuts, including almonds, walnuts, pecans and peanuts, are good for lowering cholesterol. However, avoid salted varieties, especially if you have raised blood pressure. It is not clear how nuts lower cholesterol, but it might be because they contain plant sterols as well as monounsaturated fats that protect blood vessels from damage. They are also high in fibre and Vitamin E.

PROOF
In 2010, an American analysis of 25 studies on nut consumption and blood fat levels found that eating  a portion every day (eight to ten nuts, or a small  palm-full) reduced overall cholesterol by five per cent and was particularly good for people with high levels  of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.

DOSE
Between 25g and 50g of nuts daily.

EXPERT ADVICE
Linda Main says: ‘Nuts are very filling, so not only do they reduce cholesterol, but they can stop you snacking on too many other fatty foods afterwards. While nuts are in theory very calorific, it is unlikely all the energy  is available to the body.’

4. SOYA

WHAT
Soya milk, soy nuts, tofu and soya yogurts  may help the liver to take ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol out of the bloodstream.

Using soya to replace dairy and meat can also displace saturated fat from the diet.

PROOF
There is some evidence, including a 2011 study, that soy protein can help reduce total cholesterol. 

Although the effects were modest, some experts say that because soy products such as tofu often replace meat in the diet, they reduce the intake of saturated fat from other sources.

DOSE
Experts recommend having at least two to three portions a day. That is equivalent to half a litre of soya milk and a soya yogurt. The reduction in cholesterol may be as much as five per cent, but scientific proof  for this is limited.

EXPERT ADVICE
Start with one portion a day and slowly build it into  the diet from there. ‘If you don’t like soya, follow the other tips instead,’ advises Catherine Collins.

5. HEALTHY OILS

WHAT
Olive oil and rapeseed oil, which contain mainly monounsaturated fats, neither increase nor decrease cholesterol levels. 

However, they help to make the  artery walls stronger, meaning that they are less likely  to be damaged by cholesterol. 

These fats are also cleared easily by the body.

PROOF
Studies suggest that replacing saturated fat such as lard and butter with these oils results in a fall in cholesterol. 

It may also stop LDL causing inflammation in the arteries, a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

DOSE
Two tablespoons a day used in cooking. A 2002 study found that consuming this amount of olive oil each day decreased total cholesterol by eight per cent in six weeks. Generally, studies suggest that virgin olive oil is best.

EXPERT ADVICE
Polyunsaturated fats from sunflower oils were considered to be as good as olive oils, but recently it has emerged that having too much of them causes oxidation, meaning they may increase furring of the arteries. However, remember that polyunsaturated fats are still better than butter and lard.

6. OATS

WHAT
Oats contain compounds called beta glucans, which give them their paste-like consistency. The beta  glucans form a thick gel inside the digestive tract  and bind to cholesterol in the gut, helping to prevent cholesterol from being absorbed by the body. The  gel and cholesterol are then excreted as waste.

PROOF
Analysis of 12 studies involving more than 1,000 people showed that adding beta glucans each day to your  diet via porridge, other oat-based cereals and oatcakes reduced cholesterol by up to five per cent within three months.

DOSE
Three grams of beta glucans a day. This is equivalent  to a small bowl of porridge, three oatcakes and two slices of oat bread. 

This would also contribute about  5g of your daily fibre intake (see panel, left).

EXPERT ADVICE
‘Studies show beta glucan is good for heart health  and it’s easy to eat more oats,’ says Linda Main. ‘There are now even breads with added oat bran. But people need to try to eat three portions a day  on a regular basis to have an effect. HEART UK have an Ultimate Cholesterol Lowering Plan fact sheet  that explains it all.’

Harness the power of the six foods: Eat Your Way to Lower Cholesterol, by Ian Marber and Dr Laura Corr, published by Orion, £16.99

Q + A 'If cholesterol is so bad, why do we have it?'

Why do we need cholesterol if it can be so bad for our bodies?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced by the liver and used to build cell walls, create a protective glove around nerves and to make other chemicals such as hormones. 

Cholesterol gets round our bodies  by combining with protein to form a protective coating around tiny balls of fat absorbed from our diet – termed lipoproteins. The purpose of this coating is to hold fat together, so we don’t have ‘oil slicks’ of fat in our bloodstream. 

The two lipoproteins usually measured are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL is like a juggernaut – big clumps of fat and protein that trundle along the arteries and can only be cleared from our system by the liver. As it travels, fat can break away and enter the artery walls, becoming embedded. This build-up – called atherosclerosis – causes artery walls to narrow so blood cannot get through, resulting in blood clots that can trigger a heart attack or stroke. 

HDL is known as ‘good cholesterol’. It is much smaller in size and hoovers up fat deposits from the artery wall as it moves around the body. This is why it’s important to know how much LDL and HDL are in your blood, as the ratio between these two types of fat is what really matters when it comes to risk.

What causes levels to rise?

They are controlled by our genes and diet. In the West, more people have high cholesterol than  in countries with a low-fat diet, such  as Japan. Eating foods high in saturated fat, such as butter, cream, processed meat such as sausages and fast food, means that our cholesterol goes up.

How is cholesterol measured?

The ratio between LDL and HDL is what matters. A blood test at your GP surgery can measure this. The result gives volume of cholesterol in a measurement called millimoles per litre of blood – or mmol. The target is to have an LDL reading below 3mmol and a total cholesterol reading (which takes into account the HDL and LDL) of 5mmol. 

People at high risk of heart disease – those with high blood pressure, who are overweight, older and may have family history of the disease – are told to get their total cholesterol lower, to 4mmol, with an LDL of 2mmol. The higher you score, the more chance of suffering heart disease in the next decade. Scores for total cholesterol above 8mmol will mean the person is at medium to high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), depending on age and blood pressure. Even a reading of 5 or 6mmol may be too high if you have other risk factors, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Good news: You do not have to give up on steak, red wine and dessert to lower your cholesterol

How often do I need to get a test?

After the age of 40, your GP should check your cholesterol every five years. If you have a family history of premature heart disease or raised cholesterol, you should tell your GP as soon as possible and would be eligible for tests before the age of 40. 

Does a high reading mean I’m going to have a heart attack?

CVD can lead to heart attacks and stroke. It becomes a bigger worry the older you are, if you smoke, have high blood pressure, a family history of heart problems and don’t exercise. It’s the combination of cholesterol with these other things that triggers alarm bells.

Will I need to take statins?

If your total cholesterol is above 5mmol, most doctors will tell you to review your diet. If it is a lot higher, they may tell you to take statins because these drugs are likely to reduce cholesterol by 20 to 40 per cent – a massive drop. Doctors will prescribe statins to anyone with a 20 per cent chance of developing cardiovascular disease in the next decade. They will work out this risk based on a range of personal details. But they will still say you need to improve your diet as well. 

So how much can diet alone help?

Diet can reduce cholesterol levels by ten to 20 per cent, which significantly decreases heart-disease risk. Studies show that for the average person, the drop is 13 per cent. For some of us, this may be enough. 

How long does it take to work?

To slash cholesterol by as close  to 20 per cent as possible, you’ll need to adopt ALL of the healthy eating elements mentioned above  for at least three months. If you don’t see changes after three months, talk  to your doctor. For some, a healthy diet does not have a great effect.  Once your cholesterol has  reduced, you’ll have to keep up  the good work and stick to your new eating plan.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2272401/The-foods-cut-cholesterol-just-months-dont-cheese-chocolate-breakfast-egg.html#ixzz45x5wrxQ9