Foods that help lower cholesterol in pregnancy
When we talk about cholesterol alarms are triggered, and even more so if we mention it during childhood or during pregnancy. The truth is that before getting nervous before a diagnosis of high cholesterol, should know a little more their function the organism, since, although it is true that high ch
When we talk about cholesterol alarms are triggered, and even more so if we mention it during childhood or during pregnancy. The truth is that before getting nervous before a diagnosis of high cholesterol, should know a little more their function the organism, since, although it is true that high cholesterol levels are undesirable, cholesterol itself, is necessary for the functioning of the human body.
Cholesterol in pregnancy
All body cells need a certain amount of fat and cholesterol. Cholesterol and fat need lipoproteins to circulate in the blood. In reference to cholesterol, there are two lipoproteins, low density (LDL) that carry cholesterol to tissues, and high density (HDL), which transport it to the liver to be processed and eliminated.
Roughly speaking, LDL cholesterol is what is called "bad", while HDL is called "good", because the more you have, the less likely to have heart problems. Both LDL and HDL are found in the blood, not in food, but diet can help increase or decrease one or the other.
Changes that occur in the body during pregnancy can affect how the body processes and eliminates cholesterol. In addition, hormonal fluctuations can also affect the amount of cholesterol produced in situ in the body, since, in addition to producing for the cells themselves, it also produces for the fetus' cells, and excess cholesterol can be produced.
At this point, if cholesterol levels are high, the doctor may indicate a pharmacological treatment. However, there are foods that can favor maintaining the levels within the recommended limits.
Good foods to control cholesterol in pregnancy
- The mono and polyunsaturated fats, present in fish and nuts, for example, have an effect on the levels of cholesterol dependent on each person, while contributing to the body healthy fat.
- Fiber helps eliminate cholesterol from the blood, so a diet rich in fiber is highly recommended. In addition, during pregnancy, the diet rich in fiber helps prevent problems of constipation, very typical especially in the third trimester. They contain fiber unrefined cereals (whole grain), legumes, and fruits and vegetables.
- The isoflavones of soy have been shown to be very effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels. Also the rest of the legumes are attributed these functions, although its effect is less pronounced than that of soy.
- Allicin, a phytonutrient present in ajo, has been shown to play, in very recent studies, an interesting role in the decrease of cholesterol. En - In general, the phytonutrients found in
white foods (cauliflower, mushrooms, asparagus, garlic and onion, white beans, potatoes ...) have beneficial properties to control cholesterol levels.
