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Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is essential for the normal functioning of the body, but excessive amounts in the blood can cause serious health problems. When there is too much cholesterol in the blood, it can clog the main blood vessels feeding the heart. This leads to a condition called coronary heart disease, which is the leading cause of heart attacks. Heart attacks can occur when cholesterol deposits in the blood vessels burst, causing the formation of a blood clot.
The blood clot can then block the blood supply to the heart, triggering a heart attack.
There are two types of cholesterol, called "good" HDL cholesterol and "bad" LDL cholesterol.
HDL carries cholesterol out of the cells and back to the liver, where it is broken down or eliminated from the body. The higher the HDL levels, the better.
LDLs carry cholesterol to the cells that need it, but if there is too much cholesterol for the cells to use, it can build up in the walls of the arteries and cause heart disease.
People with high cholesterol can reduce it by following a healthy diet, low in saturated fat and containing foods or supplements to lower cholesterol.
A supplement that can help do this is a type of fiber called beta-glucan.
When you eat beta-glucan, a gel is formed that binds to cholesterol and bile in the intestines. Bile is made from cholesterol.
This helps to limit the amount of cholesterol absorbed by the intestine into the bloodstream.
The liver must then extract more cholesterol from the blood to produce more bile, which also lowers cholesterol.
Beta-glucan can be taken as a supplement sold in health food stores. It is also found in cereals like oats and barley.
Whole grains are a better source of beta-glucans than refined grains because beta-glucans are found in the outer layer of the grain.
When the grains are refined, for example to make white bread and white pasta, the outer layer is removed, which means that they lose some of the nutrients.
Heart UK recommends eating about two to four servings of oatmeal or barley products a day.
This will give you about 3g of beta-glucans, which should help lower cholesterol.
"There are several foods that are not part of a healthy diet. They also help lower your cholesterol, "Heart UK said.
"Try to eat some of them everyday. The more you add to your diet, the more they will reduce your cholesterol, especially if you also reduce saturated fat. "
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