Lowering Cholesterol with a Yummy Snack

by Erika Mizrahi


No thanks on the eggs and cheese. It’s got too much cholesterol. Too much cholesterol or animal fat clogs up the arteries so blood can’t get to your heart. And you can get a heart attack, right? Wrong!


The liver produces one thousand milligrams of cholesterol per day even if you don’t eat any cholesterol. From the liver most cholesterol becomes bile salts. Then we’re left with 200 milligrams of cholesterol, which make important things like hormones and vitamin D. A lot of infertility problems are due to low cholesterol.


If you eat cholesterol the liver has to manufacture a little less. Even if you eliminate saturated fat completely from your diet, the liver will make cholesterol from sugars. This is how crucial cholesterol is.


High cholesterol isn’t the cause of heart disease. Heart disease is caused by oxidized cholesterol which forms plaque. Plaque is the stuff that clogs up our arteries and can cause heart attacks. Oxidation is due to electrons called free radicals that will attach themselves to whatever comes their way—namely, DNA tissues and organs. Instead of being in our bloodstream, oxidized cholesterol precipitates out and sticks to the walls of arteries, making plaque.


So you can have high cholesterol, but since it’s not oxidized you won’t get a heart attack. And you can have low cholesterol and if it is oxidized you may get a heart attack. Oxidation is caused by caffeine, smoking, and trans-fatty acids. Oxidized cholesterol or plaque is not caused by saturated fats (although too much of anything is not good for you).


No wonder the Framingham Heart Study ruled that people who eat more cholesterol are at greater risk for high cholesterol.


OK, so how do we stop oxidation? One of the best ways is to fight it with antioxidants. Antioxidants bind with the free radicals (which oxidize cells) and take them out of the body.


Two of the best anti-oxidant rich foods are grapes and pomegranates.


For the past ten years, scientists have been doting over grapes. The skin and seeds of dark or red grapes are chockfull of antioxidants. Dark wines and grape juices will also do the trick, because they are pressed along with their seeds. Experts have long marveled at low levels of heart disease in France despite the gluttonous diet that pervades French culture. The secret is the grape. The French have always been known for enjoying a glass of red wine after each meal. Beside their antioxidant powers, grapes will also improve arterial flexibility, lowering blood pressure.


In the war against oxidants, pomegranates are the special forces. Research has proven that the pomegranate has more antioxidants than any other food. An Article from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology describes volunteers taking a strong antioxidant for only two weeks—in this case a daily glass of pomegranate juice. The study found a forty percent slowdown in the oxidation process, otherwise known as plaque.¹


Making juice out of grapes and pomegranates is a fantastic way to stock up on anti-oxidants. Instead of eating three entire pomegranates, you can garner the same benefit from one neat glass of juice. Whenever you juice, make sure to drink up quickly. With more air exposure, fewer and fewer antioxidants in your juice (antioxidants bind with the oxygen in the air).


Happy antioxidizing!


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