You may have been told that you have to lower your fat intake or get your cholesterol levels in order, but did you know that there are actually two kinds of cholesterol? There’s bad cholesterol, and there’s also good cholesterol that you’ll want to keep in the body. Here is some information about these two substances, as well as how you can make the necessary lifestyle changes to keep your levels of each where they should be.

Good cholesterol is more technically known as high density lipoprotein (HDL), and the bad cholesterol is low density lipoprotein, or LDL. Part of the reason why cholesterol is such a problem is that it doesn’t dissolve in the blood, so if you have too much of it in the body, it will settle in the tissues and cause weight gain and clog your arteries and blood vessels. This substance has to be transported from cell to cell in the body, and the carriers that do this are the lipoproteins. LDL, thebad cholesterol , works slowly to get fatty deposits from one cell to the other, which is why people with blood pressure problems and too much fat on the body are often tired and don’t have much energy. The job of the lipoproteins is supposed to be to take excess fat to the tissues so that it can be stored for energy use later. This energy comes from the food we eat; any energy that the body does not use immediately is automatically stored, but the more energy that is stored, the more fatigued you feel after eating, particularly if you’re eating the wrong things.

Triglycerides are an important component of managing your cholesterol levels. Being inactive, smoking, drinking heavily, and consuming a diet that is very high in carbohydrates will fill the body with triglycerides, which lower your goodcholesterol levels . This means that LDL is present at higher levels in the body, and you’ll need to work as fast as you can to reverse these levels if you get results from the doctor telling you that you’re at risk for heart disease or complications with blood pressure.

We are frequently advised by our doctor that if you have high cholesterol level, you should avoid taking any egg especially the egg yolk. So, most of us will equate taking egg yolk to having heart disease because a high cholesterol level will possibly raise the risk of heart disease. Such fear has been instilled in our mind for the last thirty years.

Several notable studies have proven that there is actually weak relationship between egg intake and heart disease. Egg white is a source of protein that is rich in essential amino acids. These acids are required for health but not produced by the body and available only through food. The proteins found in eggs can benefit athletes for the extra energy they require, children for their needs for muscle-building and old people for their requirement to arrest muscle decline.

The yellow egg yolk contains lutein that is excellent for protecting the eyes from age-related degeneration and cataract. The lutein found in eggs is three times better absorbed by the body than is lutein from other sources possibly because of other compounds in egg yolk such as lecithin and cholesterol. Egg yolk is also a good source of choline, a vitamin critical for brain and memory development, especially in early life. Choline also protects the heart by converting a molecule in the body that can damage blood vessels called homocysteine into a safer substance.

Does the cholesterol presented in egg yolk pose any threat to our heart? Newer researches have found that eggs contain low level of saturated fat and no trans-fatty acids. For healthy people with generally healthy diet (limiting red meats, fried and processed foods), one or two eggs a day will not really affect the blood’s cholesterol levels. Actually, some researches also reported that eating some amount of egg yolk might even raise levels of healthy fats and prevent formation of blood clots. However, people who are sensitive to cholesterol or who have been advised to cut their dietary cholesterol should still limit their intake of egg yolk or consider lower cholesterol eggs.

Let’s start with food. There are certain foods that will aid in this process and others that will hinder it. The ones you will want to stay away from are obvious for the most part. Some examples are fast food, trans fats & hydrogenated oils, sugars of any kind unless they are in the form of a fruit, especially high fructose corn syrup, white flour, pork, beef unless it’s at least 90% lean, stay away from as much processed food as possible and also alcohol & soda, yes energy drinks count as soda.

Now on to the good stuff, what you can eat. The best foods are the ones that naturally boost your glutathione levels. Glutathione is the master amino acid and antioxidant. And the foods that boost it are asparagus, broccoli, avocado, spinach, raw egg, garlic and fresh unprocessed meat. Fruits & vegetables should be your main source of carbohydrates. Whole grains are great but make sure they are “real” whole grains. Meaning, stay away from the processed breads and go for grains like steal cut oats, quinoa and brown rice. Get your lean protein from natural or organic chicken breast, check the label and make sure the sodium is around 50mg otherwise it’s been injected and you should proceed with caution.

Other protein sources are fish, such as salmon, halibut, sole, herring and tuna, bison meat is naturally leaner than beef, tofu, nuts & seeds, beans & other legumes and whey protein. You need to eat every 2-3 hours even if you’re not hungry. This will speed up your metabolism causing you to burn more fat and keep your calorie intake up which is needed to support new muscle growth.