Cholesterol - a fatty, wax-like compounds found in the cell walls. Some amount of body needs cholesterol: Cholesterol used by the body for the synthesis of certain hormones, vitamin D, bile acids, helps break down fats. If the level of cholesterol in the blood is too high, cholesterol begins to accumulate in the arteries, which can lead to the development of coronary artery disease and a number of other serious illnesses.

What factors increase the level of cholesterol

The main risk factors, somehow affecting the increase of cholesterol levels in the blood may include:

• Adiposity
• Excessive consumption of foods with trans fats or saturated fats
• Lack of fiber in the diet
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Stress
• Smoking
• Hypothyroidism (decreased thyroid function)
• Diabetes
• Polycystic ovary syndrome

In most cases, the main "culprits" high cholesterol are unhealthy diet, combined with a sedentary lifestyle.

The "bad" and "good" cholesterol

The cholesterol level in the blood is determined by two factors: the amount of cholesterol absorbed from the intestine, and the amount of cholesterol by the liver. The blood contains two different types of cholesterol: LDL ("harmful" cholesterol) and high density lipoproteins ("useful" cholesterol). "Bad" cholesterol plays a key role in the development of atherosclerosis - the formation of cholesterol plaques in blood vessels, which may eventually lead to severe diseases of the cardiovascular system. "Useful" cholesterol, on the contrary, contributes to the capture of cholesterol by the liver, where the synthesis of bile.

How to reduce cholesterol

Maintenance of blood cholesterol in normal and timely lowering cholesterol is very important to health thus can prevent atherosclerosis and reduce the risk of severe diseases of the cardiovascular system (including heart attack). Lower cholesterol help not only drugs, but also some changes in lifestyle - the ways in which people can take advantage of their own:

• Proper diet: less fat, and the greater the fiber content in the diet, the more likely lowering cholesterol. Refusal of harmful trans-fats and saturated fats, "transition" on fiber-rich vegetables and whole grains can significantly improve the health of the cardiovascular system.
• Fish and fish oil Fish oil - so whether it is useful to think? : Omega-3 contained in fish oil and meat oily fish - a great helper in the fight against cholesterol, which is confirmed by numerous medical studies. To lower cholesterol, twice a week is enough to eat oily fish. Research has shown that an amount of fatty acids in the diet helps to reduce the risk of cardio-vascular diseases provoked by high cholesterol levels in the blood for at least thirty-five percent.
• Giving up smoking: a timely withdrawal from nicotine in any form - the guarantee of health of the cardiovascular system. At the slightest risk of severe heart disease, doctors recommend a patient is required to quit smoking How to Quit Smoking: Tips for Women .
• Physical activity: sedentary life not only helps lower cholesterol, but also by maintaining normal body weight, maintain normal cholesterol levels permanently. We must not forget that overweight, obesity - one of the main risk factors, provoking increased cholesterol levels.

Medication lowering cholesterol

In some cases, changes in lifestyles, proper nutrition Proper nutrition - the basic precepts of healthy food   and physical activity sufficient to effectively lower cholesterol. In such situations, appointed medical treatment: most cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are used. In addition to the statin can be administered niacin Nicotinic acid: what is its benefit to man? , Drugs, cholesterol absorption inhibitors and other drugs.

  Nutrients, which acts as a source of food during pregnancy perform two important tasks at once, providing needed energy, vitamins, minerals, not only the expectant mother, but also her child. A balanced diet for pregnant women is needed to maintain normal weight women and normal fetal development Fetal development - week after week .

Energy deficit (not enough calories in the diet) and lack of nutrients can lead to complications of pregnancy and serious consequences for both mother and child. In particular, poor diet increases the risk of too low birth weight, prematurity, developmental disorders of the child. During pregnancy, the body's need for women to energy (calories) increases as the energy expended to several different processes:

• On the maintenance of the normal operation of all body systems are women;
• In any activity (the energy required to perform the simplest actions during pregnancy significantly increases);
• The formation of fat, amniotic (amniotic) fluid, placenta. During pregnancy a woman is gaining an average of twelve or thirteen kilograms and, accordingly, requires a corresponding increase in the number of calories consumed.

Diet for pregnant women and increase the number of calories

Since the body's need for energy in a woman during pregnancy increases gradually, balanced diet for pregnant women should include a little more calories. In the first trimester of pregnancy, as a rule, such an increase in the number of calories is not required, and the second and third trimesters, weight gain and energy costs, the number of calories consumed daily should be increased. In the second trimester, the number of calories per day How many calories a day you need to lose weight - everyone has their own rate   recommended to increase by an average of two hundred and forty, in the third trimester of pregnancy - four hundred and fifty.

Of course, increasing the number of calories consumed do not need the expense of high-calorie fatty or sugary foods, but due to healthy and nutritious foods. It is best to cope with this task fruits, whole grains, cereals.

In order to make the necessary adjustments in the diet for pregnant women and increase the number of calories consumed daily in the two hundred and forty, enough to include in the menu, the following products:

• Sandwich with ham (a slice of wholemeal bread and ham and fifty grams), and orange - a total of two hundred seventy-one calories;
• Two pieces of bread with peanut butter - two hundred seventy-six calories;
• One hundred grams of white rice, eighty grams of roasted beef, and one hundred grams of roasted vegetables - two hundred seventy-four calories;
• Cocktail of skimmed milk with berries, one serving of ice cream (three hundred milliliters) - two hundred and eighteen calories;
• Two hundred milliliters of low-fat fruit yogurt, two hundred grams of fresh strawberries - two hundred twenty-six calories;
• A slice of wholemeal bread and forty grams of cheese - one hundred ninety calories;
• A glass of skim milk and thirty grams of peanuts - two hundred and forty calories.

To increase the number of daily calories for four hundred and fifty in the third trimester of pregnancy, in the diet for pregnant women can include:

• Two boiled eggs, toast, two of whole wheat bread, banana (two hundred grams) - four hundred forty one calorie;
• Two hundred fifty grams of lasagna with meat - four hundred and thirty calories;
• Serve baked potatoes with chicken breast (eighty grams), Greek salad - four hundred thirty-seven calories;
• Banana (two hundred grams), thirty grams of peanuts, a glass of milk with a small (two per cent) fat - four hundred thirty-eight calories.

Cereal, whole grains (bread, pasta, spaghetti), rice

Nutritionists recommend eating four to six servings of cereal every day throughout pregnancy. Equivalent to one serving of cereal following products:

• Two slices of wholemeal bread (sixty grams);
• One serving of cooked rice (two hundred grams);
• One serving of pasta;
• One wholegrain bun;
• Half a cup of cereal;
• One and a half cups of breakfast cereal.

Vegetables and legumes

The diet for pregnant women should include five to six servings of legumes or any vegetables, whether leafy vegetables, acidic vegetables, starchy vegetables (like potatoes). Fresh vegetables can be used separately or in salads, meat dishes, soups. One serving of vegetables - a hundred grams of fried or boiled vegetables or legumes, two hundred grams of fresh raw vegetables or one medium potato.

Fruit

Pregnant women should eat more fruit than before pregnancy - at least four servings of fruit a day, whether fresh, canned and dried fruits or fruit juices. You should not be limited only apples or bananas - the diet for pregnant women should include a variety of fruits and fruit juices. One serving of fruit equivalent:

• Apples, bananas Bananas: the benefits and harms health   pear or medium-sized;
• Two plums, apricots or two kiwi;
• Two hundred grams of canned fruit (such as pineapple rings);
• Half a cup of fresh fruit juice

Dairy

To meet the increased needs of the body of a pregnant woman in nutrients, vitamins and minerals daily diet for pregnant women should include at least two servings of dairy products. If you are worried about a too rapid weight gain, you can stop for dairy products with low fat content, which contain the same set of nutrients, and fat milk, sour cream, cottage cheese. One serving of dairy products equivalent to:

• One glass of milk;
• Forty grams of hard cheese;
• Two hundred grams (one package) yogurt.

Meat and other protein sources

Pregnant women are recommended to consume one serving of meat or other foods rich in protein a day. One serving is equivalent to:

• Sixty-five - one hundred grams of lean beef or chicken;
• Eighty - one hundred and twenty grams of fish fillets;
• Two small eggs;
• One cup of cooked beans or beans;
• One-third cup of nuts.