Though cholesterol is essential for many functions in the human body, high levels of it may contribute to anything from high blood pressure to coronary heart disease, and lowering your cholesterol now by eating healthier, exercising and avoiding sugars, saturated fats, and starches may prevent a lot of serious health problems down the road and play a role in decreasing them as you get older.
Healthy cholesterol levels act as a precursor to certain hormones and vitamins, and is a component to generating healthy cell membranes and nerve cells. However, elevated levels of total blood cholesterol or other blood lipids contribute to developing a number of health problems including coronary heart disease. It has been researched that probiotics significantly reduce harmful lipids by assimilating cholesterol in the digestive tract and reducing the absorption of dietary cholesterol from the digestive system into the blood.
Cutting down on calories and reducing saturated fat and bad cholesterol (LDL) in the diet will increase optimum health, and adding probiotics and beneficial bacteria to your regular diet aids in food absorption, keeping cholesterol levels within healthy ranges. Cultured dairy products have been shown to reduce serum cholesterol, as well as triglycerides that are harmful to the body, and probiotics such as yogurts and kefir grains offer a safer way to clean up excess cholesterol without the side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Cultured dairy products such as yogurt decreases serum cholesterol levels in humans and rabbits and every one percent reduction in serum cholesterol concentration is associated with an estimated 2-3% reduction in risk for coronary heart disease.. Regular intake of fermented milk, which is what kefir originates from, contains an appropriate strain of L. acidophilus has the potential of reducing risk for coronary heart disease by 6-10%. Lactobacillus acidophilus, present in probiotics such as kefir, decreases serum cholesterol levels as well.
Food absorption and liver functions improve beneficial bacteria, and when consumed on a regular basis help keep cholesterol levels within healthy ranges. Assimilation of cholesterol in the digestive tract, such as the small intestine, may be important in reducing the absorption of dietary cholesterol from the digestive system into the blood.
Probiotics offer a safe way to clean up excess cholesterol without the side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs, which, like many strong medicines,may be indiscriminate in targeting the root problem, much like a tactical nuclear missile which wipes out the problem but also results in a lot of collateral damage. A good way to assist probiotics in lowering your serum cholesterol is to reduce the intake of both alcohol and saturated fats, processed sugars, and to exercise on a regular basis in addition to the intake of probiotics such as water kefir to your diet daily. This is preventative medicine, which offers many benefits to aid you in the long run as opposed to being short-sighted and creating many health problems you don’t need.
In short, though many different behaviors contribute to lowering your cholesterol such as a healthy diet and exercise, probiotics such as kefir grains as an addition to your daily food intake will help you in this endeavor and provide many other benefits to your health as well.
