Fitness Tip: Sodium and Your Diet

Fitness Tip: Sodium and Your Diet - Who doesn't like the taste of salt?

As a way of lowering your blood pressure, keeping salt in your meal plan in check is another important way to support your overall health. Read labels, and watch out for prepared foods that contain large amounts of salt such as soups, snacks, and even some sodas. If you are craving salt, try enhancing your food flavor with fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice or some NO sodium or low sodium seasoning.

How small amounts of certain foods can reduce cholesterol

Plant sterols occur naturally in a host of foods—primarily soybean oil, nuts, seeds, legumes and some fruits and vegetables. Because plant sterols are chemically similar to cholesterol, the human body tends to absorb them and pass cholesterol out of the body as waste. The net result is that consuming foods rich in plant sterols can reduce the body’s blood cholesterol levels. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows food companies to declare the heart benefits of plant sterols on product packaging.

What are plant sterols? - Plant sterols are compounds found naturally in everyday foods like vegetables oils, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. They have a chemical structure similar to cholesterol. U.S. diets containing these foods provide 140–400 milligrams of plant sterols per day.

How effective are plant sterols at lowering LDL cholesterol? - Numerous studies have concluded that consuming at least 2 g of plant sterols a day is associated with an average 10% reduction in LDL cholesterol.

How do plant sterols lower cholesterol? - Because plant sterols have a similar chemical structure to cholesterol, they block the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine.