What's good for lowering cholesterol? Phytosterol is a good thing

"I have cholesterol!" From the movie McDull resounding, this sentence has become the self-warning of many white-collar workers More and more young urban white-collar workers have been infected with high cholesterol due to less exercise and improper diet Please pay attention to - according to a recent survey on the nutritional and health status of Chinese residents, the prevalence rate of dyslipidemia in adults in China is as high as 18.6%, hypercholesterolemia is 2.9%, and 3.9% of the people have elevated blood cholesterol edge China is facing a severe situation of hypercholesterolemia However, the current situation of prevention and treatment of high cholesterol in China is worrying, and the awareness rate and standard rate of cholesterol in the population are very low China Health Education Center recently launched the "balanced 2010 cholesterol health communication action", which aims to improve the public's correct understanding of cholesterol health problems, improve the diet structure, and establish a healthy lifestyle The standard of cholesterol varies from person to person "In our blood test report, only the total cholesterol higher than 230-240mg / dl is marked as the increase of blood cholesterol, and some medical insurance institutions only reimburse the patients whose cholesterol reaches such level for the cost of lipid-lowering drugs." Hu Dayi, President of the cardiovascular physician branch of the Chinese Medical Association, said that the normal blood lipid values of the general population are different from those of the patients who have suffered from coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases, or have had myocardial infarction or stroke For patients who have suffered from myocardial infarction, interventional stent or coronary artery bypass surgery, or diabetes mellitus and have multiple risk factors at the same time, low-density cholesterol should be reduced to less than 100mg / dl; for other people with lower risk, the target level is 130mg / dL or higher "Using the same standard to measure the results of different groups of people makes the most urgent need for lipid-lowering treatment, and the patients who can benefit the most from it mistakenly think that they do not need lipid-lowering, or the medication is limited by medical insurance." According to Hu Dayi, cholesterol management is very important in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease In fact, those at high risk should continue treatment to lower cholesterol level, in order to effectively prevent coronary heart disease, stroke and other diseases A large number of clinical trials show that only through blood pressure control, myocardial infarction can be reduced to half of the expected degree However, no matter what method is used, as long as it can reduce the blood cholesterol level, it can further significantly reduce the risk of myocardial infarction The combination of lowering blood pressure and cholesterol can reduce myocardial infarction and stroke more effectively Don't smell the color change of cholesterol There are two ways to treat cholesterol: diet therapy and medication Yang Xinchun, director of cardiovascular department of Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, said that if cholesterol is high, but there is no coronary heart disease, hypertension and other diseases, you only need to adjust your diet, eat less foods with high cholesterol, such as egg yolk, crab yolk, animal viscera, eat more vegetables, fruits, beans, oats and other foods, and increase exercise in a proper amount If cholesterol is relatively high, and there are coronary heart disease, hypertension and other diseases, it is necessary to take drugs to reduce cholesterol "Many people just think cholesterol is a bad thing They smell it In fact, cholesterol also plays an important role in human health " Yang Xinchun explained that cholesterol is an important component of human cell membrane Without cholesterol, cells cannot maintain normal physiological activities and life will be terminated In addition, cholesterol can also form cholic acid, synthetic hormone, which plays an important role in the normal operation of the body There is a risk of disease only if you have too much cholesterol in your body Some people are extreme Even if their cholesterol index is normal, they refuse to eat eggs and meat in order to prevent the disease This is very unscientific After all, these foods also contain other nutrients needed by the human body Yang Xinchun also pointed out that the strategies to maintain heart health include the following: reducing the intake of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids in the diet; increasing the intake of plant fiber in the diet; increasing sports; controlling hypertension; and quitting smoking "Adding phytosterols to your diet is a great way to lower bad cholesterol." Phytosterol is a good plant sterol, which plays an effective role in maintaining cholesterol balance in the body, and is known as the key to life by scientists So, how does phytosterol "beat" bad cholesterol? Professor Li Keji, School of public health, Peking University, makes an interesting analogy "Phytosterol and cholesterol are a pair of enemies, but God only arranged one seat for them They enter the human body and fight when they meet First, in the digestion process, just like we squeeze the subway, we start to fight from the "security check" In this process, phytosterols will squeeze bad cholesterol out of the queue, and you can't get on the subway without security check The second step is to enter the intestinal system You can still fight With phytosterols, bad cholesterol is not so happy Wait until the third step, in the cell link, the two brothers are still fighting, fighting back and forth, and the final result is that bad cholesterol absorption is reduced, which also reduces blood cholesterol " According to experts, when bad cholesterol takes up the seat, it's not sitting still, but sitting and standing again It's dynamic, while the buttocks of phytosterols are heavy If it takes up the seat, it rarely moves In this way, once phytosterols occupy the position of bad cholesterol, they can easily leave the body without shelter It is understood that in China, phytosterols passed the approval of new resource food in 2007, and passed the new resource food certification under the new national regulations at the beginning of this year "If you're shopping in a supermarket and find a food with phytosterols on its label, consider buying it." So said Li Keji According to the research of "balanced diet" proposed by experts, the normal people can improve the abnormal blood lipid by taking 1.3 g of phytosterol every day, combined with a reasonable diet The problem is that through natural food, only 200 to 400 milligrams of phytosterol can be consumed per day, which is a difference from 1.3 grams What should I do? Consider the use of phytosterols added to the food "tonic." "For example, in developed countries such as the United States, adding phytosterols to bread, milk, edible oil and other foods is a good way." Said Yang Xinchun "In addition to following the doctor's advice and taking lipid-lowering drugs, a scientific lifestyle is essential." Professor Fan Zhihong, a professor in the Department of nutrition and food safety and doctor of Food Science in the school of food science of China Agricultural University, also recommended a daily diet combination aimed at reducing cholesterol and helping the body balance: Breakfast: Milk 250ml + instant oatmeal (30g) made into paste; two pieces of baked whole wheat bread, one spoon of chopped walnut kernel; one piece of fruit Lunch: stir fried diced pork with pea, fungus and tofu; blanched spinach 150g, seasoned with sesame paste 10g; sweet potato rice (50g rice, 100g sweet potato diced); 1 large cup of soymilk 300g Dinner: 1 bowl of Babao congee (red beans, mung beans, brown rice, glutinous rice, barley, peanuts, dried yam, lotus seeds, etc 40g, plus 2-3 dates); stir fried green cauliflower; steamed egg soup (half the amount of eggs); shredded carrot with mushrooms and shredded kelp.