Doctor Oz gives five ways to lower Cholesterol Numbers on ‘The Dr. Oz Show’
(Best Syndication News) - Doctor Oz had an interesting segment on ‘Dr. Oz’ TV show today about five things that everyone can do to help reduce cholesterol numbers. He explained that everyone should know their cholesterol numbers just as if they know their body weight.
Doctor Oz’s list of five things to lower cholesterol
1. Reduce the amount of belly fat, which will help the liver produce less cholesterol in the bloodstream. Dr. Oz explained that the belly fat sends a chemical to the liver. This chemical then poisons the liver and cause the liver to make more LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol increasing the amount in the blood.
2. The next way to lower high cholesterol is to walk for 20 minutes everyday.
3. Dr. Oz said that eating fruits and vegetables help to improve cholesterol numbers. He suggests women eat 5 – 7 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. He continued to explain one of the reason eating produce helps to lower cholesterol levels is that it contains fiber, which has shown to help to improve cholesterol levels.
4. Eat 25 grams of fiber daily to reduce cholesterol. He said that the average American gets around 15 grams of fiber each day. To demonstrate how much fiber it takes to get 25 grams he showed that eating 6 apples would equal around 25 grams of fiber. Another example he demonstrated 25 grams of fiber was to make a salad with 4 cups of lettuce, 4 cups of mushrooms, 2 cups of tomatoes, and 1 cup of onions. He also showed that eating 1 cup of oatmeal has 4 grams of fiber. Dr. Oz warned of the dangers of increasing fiber intake too quickly, which can cause intestinal pains. To avoid having gut pains, he recommended gradually increasing the fiber at around 5 grams of extra fiber per each week.
5. In order to get more fiber in the diet, he said you could take a dietary fiber supplement called psyllium, which is what is found in Metamucil (Another commonly known brand name is Fiberall). Dr. Oz said that psyllium also helps to control blood sugar along with reducing cholesterol levels. The fiber absorbs the dietary fat, which prevents the fat from entering into the body and therefore preventing high cholesterol levels. He said to take 3 teaspoons per day of psyllium supplements spread out throughout the day.
According to the National Institute of Health’s website, psyllium husks are used to treat constipation and is considered a natural laxative. It also helps to form bulky stools. The NIH website suggests talking with your doctor for an appropriate dosage to follow when taking psyllium.
The government agency also said that psyllium should not be taken longer than a week unless a doctor approves it. In addition, when taking the psyllium supplement regardless of the form it comes in, it needs to be taken with 8 ounces of water to make sure it works correctly. Without adequate liquid intake, constipation could occur.
On the NIH website, they list possible side effects from taking psyllium. The side effects are difficulty breathing, stomach pain, difficulty swallowing, skin rash, itching, nausea, or vomiting. If any side effects occur contact your medical professional immediately.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center psyllium comes from a shrub plant called Plantago ovate. The plant is plentiful in India. Each plant can grow around 15,000 tiny seeds that have a gel-coating, which is used to make the fiber supplement. When the gel gets wet, it swells up to expand. The university said that Psyllium can also help to treat irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids.
By: Marsha Quinn