Tuesday’s Tip|Flaxseed and High Fiber|Improve Cholesterol

Flaxseed and high-fiber diet/supplements are claimed to help improve your cholesterol. This is part 3 of my series on Cholesterol and You where I continue to explore recommendations I’ve received to improve my cholesterol levels. What are they? what affect do they have? And do I really have to …

Flaxseed

My doctor suggested that I consume "50 grams every day". That sounded simple enough on paper, but then I started reading. I tend to read before starting anything new.

What I discovered is that there is a good connection linking flaxseed consumption with lowering cholesterol. The problem is … I think it is gross. Sure if I bury it in a fruit smoothie I don’t notice, but there is just no practical way that I will consume 50 grams every day.

I’ll just have to depend on the other 9 tips to do the work.

High Fiber Diet and Fiber Supplements

The recommendation I got was to consume a "diet with 35 grams of fiber – bran and vegetables, slow cooked oatmeal with a fiber supplement"

What I found when researching this recommendation is that the key is psyllium husk. Not only does the fiber help the digestive system work better, but when the fiber comes from psyllium husk it also reduces low-density lipoproteins (LDL) the “bad” cholesterol.

I purchased Walmart’s Equate: 100% Natural Psyllium Husk Fiber Fiber Therapy. I take it three times per day.

My only advise with the fiber supplement is … do not make any drastic changes. After taking the supplement for a few weeks I went on a business trip and didn’t bring it with me. From full dose to nothing. Combine that with a change in my diet from fairly decent food to eating out every meal. My digestive system went nuts. I’ll spare the details, but take my advise and make gradual changes.

Numbers Tomorrow

Tomorrow I’ll be getting my blood work done again. This will mark three months of following these tips. I’m excited to see what, if any, changes have happened in that short period of time.

Stay tuned to see how these tips have helped, or not, and to hear the rest of them.

What have you been doing to keep your cholesterol in check?

About Troy Pesola

Troy is the founder of Cube.Dweller.Fitness. He's an innovation catalyst in several areas of life including business, marketing, and process improvement. Outside of work he's actively involved in fitness, health, and living vibrantly in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.