Cholesterol credit trades high animal-fat foods for those that lower our LDL.
A "carbon credit" is a term used for a permit representing the right to emit one tonne of the oxide-gas.
Shall we have some fun? Let's define a "cholesterol credit" as a term for a permit representing the right for you to enjoy some rich fatty food; a double thick milkshake, a T-bone steak or an egg perhaps.
Or a cheese burger and a couple beers might be more relevant to an average male. For me it must include a good dollop of butter on a new potato; those from cold storage make my blood glucose soar so I avoid them in any case.
This page was last updated by Bernard Preston on 5th June, 2024.
So what are carbon credits?
There are many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their C-footprint on a voluntary basis. It's all about the clean development mechanism which has two goals.
Bear with me; I know this is probably boring but I'm just warming to my theme. If you want to be able to enjoy your red meat and butter, and eat it without Jiminy Cricket chirping then this is the page for you.
The clean blood-vessels mechanism and cholesterol credit works like this. So, how are your arteries doing?
Are they clogged with plaque, raising your pressure, and threatening your very life? Or are they smooth as a baby's bottom and carrying life-giving blood to the farthermost corners of the body?
Just as certain countries that shall remain nameless have refused to sign the Kyoto carbon-emissions protocol, you can decline this cholesterol deal too. Many people do and die ten or more years before their time.
The Kyoto protocol is about saving the planet without inhibiting development.
The cholesterol credit protocol is about saving your life without unduly inhibiting your overall enjoyment of food.
Do you get it?
"Don't wait for the Last Judgement; it happens every day."
Albert Camus
The purpose of the clean development mechanism is to promote progress in Third World countries. Projects that reduce carbon emissions are credited to companies that cut emissions.
So for example a coal-fired generating company in developed countries might buy carbon credits from a forestation conglomerate in the Third World like SAPPI.
With the atmosphere having reached 400ppm of carbon in 2018, the highest it's been in 3 million years, climate-change and global warming of catastrophic proportions are inevitable. We have turned Planet Earth into one vast greenhouse; it is getting hot as hell in here.
The purpose of the clean artery mechanism is to promote smooth blood vessels in your body; so you can develop projects that reduce your cholesterol whilst still enjoying your supper. In Dutch we would ask "snap 't?" Did you get it?
So to satisfy your love of a chocolate milkshake in the afternoon you have to buy cholesterol credits by making a nutritious smoothie for breakfast. What could be easier and tastier?
How long does it take to peel an orange, slice a cantaloupe and pull the stalks out of six strawberries?
Drop them and half a banana into the blender with a slosh of yoghurt. Could you manage that before rushing off to work?
This nutritious green smoothie is one of my favourites; it takes me only five-minutes to throw it together.
Is your cholesterol over 200?
Like high atmospheric carbon above 400ppm, there are catastrophic changes in your well-being lurking out of sight just over the horizon.
No sugar please but if you are desperate for sweetness, perhaps add half a teaspoon of natural honey; if you can find it. You won't see any on the regular supermarket shelves.
Why is this so important to your DC you may be thinking? At a medical site, yes but what is the reason on this page?
Firstly there is
now strong evidence that patients suffering from atherosclerosis of the
arteries supplying the lumbar spine with blood will experience far more back
pain. Just as important they also respond poorly to all treatments of slipped discs; that cartilage desperately need oxygen to heal.
Foods to avoid high cholesterol is our topic; those that can lower increased blood fats without medication.
Fortunately it's not necessary to be highly precise about buying cholesterol credits. It is simply if you want this, then you must also have that.
I won't belabour the point any further. If you want a cholesterol-rich dish then you must add another loaded with the food that lowers the blood fats. Then you can have your cake and eat it.
Best is to get into a routine of daily eating foods like unrefined oats, garbanzo beans and salads; vegetables, fruit and fish too;
A little over a tablespoon of freshly-ground flaxseeds is as effective as statins[1]. We enjoy it in our super smoothies. It's all about a different omega 3 fatty acid that is found in plants; alpha linolenic acid, or ALA.
There's strong research backing all this; read some of it at heart, stroke and diabetes[5]. By doing some relatively small and not difficult things you easily improve your cholesterol credit; could you force down a handful of unsalted nuts and seeds as a snack every day? With ease, methinks, if it means you can have butter on your potato.
Did you know that new potatoes, eaten within three days of being lifted from the ground do not cause a surge in blood sugar like ordinary spuds?
Over and above your choice foods taking a brisk walk will also buy you cholesterol credits, and improve your back and bone strength.
The omega-3 in fatty fish also buys you significant cholesterol credit. It raises the good HDL; the one that sweeps the arteries clean of low density lipoproteins and VLDL, the bad cousins.
OPEN ANDRE AGASSI
Read how Andre Agassi kept his cholesterol down and his blood sugar up by living on baked potatoes and lentil soup, one of the marvelous foods that lower the LDLs.
OPEN ANDRE AGASSI is an inspiring story; and it's well written.
In short you can enjoy your butter, cheese and red meat in moderation, provided you counterbalance your food with plenty of unrefined oats, hummus and greens; fish and exercise too.
Nobody has tested it but I wonder if making honey mead isn't part of the reason my cholesterol is so dangerously low; it's proven with red wine but no scientist has researched this beverage. You have to brew it yourself.
A slice of chocolate cake contains about 500 calories; in order to get the cholesterol credit in balance, remember that a heavy workout lasting an hour only burns 300 - 400.
To keep your waist in check, enjoy treats occasionally on high and holy days but have a smaller piece and never a second; it's called keeping the glycaemic load down.
You cannot lose weight by exercise alone but it certainly helps keep your blood glucose down after an indulgence in refined carbs; and improves muscle tone and bone density.
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