When I was younger, I knew that eating a balanced diet was important, but I never really paid attention to fibre intake. As an adult, and as a busy working mom, I’m only now really focusing on the health benefits of psyllium fibre.
As someone who recently turned forty, I am paying a lot more attention to health and activity. Not that I wasn’t before, but because with age, I realize my body and health in general have been changing.
Though on the farm, we lead a busy, active, healthy lifestyle, and we make it a habit to eat healthy, nutritious, home cooked meals, I still think about cholesterol.
Managing Cholesterol Through Diet and Activity
What is blood cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fat found in the blood. There are two main types of blood cholesterol: high density or HDL cholesterol and low density or LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is referred to as “bad” cholesterol that can form plaque or fatty deposits on your artery walls and block blood flow to the heart and brain, if your LDL level is high. HDL cholesterol is referred to as “good” cholesterol because it helps to remove excess cholesterol from the body.
How is blood cholesterol increased?
Cholesterol is naturally made by your body but is increased through your diet. Dietary cholesterol — found in meat, poultry, eggs and regular dairy products — has less impact on blood cholesterol than foods with saturated and trans fat. Foods containing saturated fat include processed foods, fatty meats, full-fat milk products, butter and lard. Foods containing trans fat include partially hydrogenated margarines, deep-fried foods and many packaged crackers, cookies and commercially baked products.
Why should I control my blood cholesterol?
High blood cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. As your blood cholesterol rises, so does your risk of coronary heart disease.
If you go on the heartandstroke.ca website, you’ll be able to find information, recipes, and tips to help lower cholesterol and promote heart health.
Cholesterol isn’t all bad news. Follow these tips to lower your cholesterol, the natural way.
I’ve been taking steps to keep my LDL cholesterol level in check. On both sides of my family, there is family history of high cholesterol and high blood-pressure. My Dad has had a heart attack and strokes in the past few years, so this makes me really concerned about my own health. I take into consideration everything from family health history, genetics, lifestyle, and diet.
We are busy and physically active on the farm, but I know I could use a few more days of extra hard workout. Taking care of the farm animals, walking the dog, and helping with farm chores is not enough. 
Though for the most part, we eat very healthy (I grow our family’s fruits and vegetables on our farm and I cook 98% of our meals), we do have the odd treat once in a while. I do bake, but only on special occasions, and we live on an island in rural Northern Ontario, with no chain restaurants/franchises, so the number of times we eat fast food per year, we can count on two hands.
I do have to say that I’ve been thinking more and more about the hearth health benefits of psyllium though! The heart health benefits of psyllium fibre and making small changes every day to help live a more healthful lifestyle.
I include lots of whole grains into our diet like barley, oats, quinoa, brown rice, farro, and bulgur. We eat lots of legumes, and pay attention to portion sizes. This said, I have a little secret to share and it is something I started when I had Little One. Along with the wholesome food we grow on our farm, I have been taking Metamucil fibre therapy. 
Canadians looking to improve their overall health can start their day off right with psyllium fibre.
Health Benefits of Psyllium Fibre
Psyllium fibre, the naturally sourced dietary fibre found in Metamucil powder, has a long history of use in traditional and herbal medicines. In fact, it can provide multi-health benefits, such as helping to lower cholesterol to promote heart health.
A friend of mine jokingly calls psyllium “the bathroom buddy”. She uses it to help promote “regularity” and overall digestive health.
I have read that adding water-soluble fibers like psyllium to your diet might reduce blood triglycerides, blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.
Get that fibre in!
Each of these options will provide you with two grams:
- ½ ripe avocado
- ¼ cup dried figs
- 1 large orange
- ½ cup sweet potato
- ¾ cup broccoli
- ¾ cup oat bran
- ¼ cup bran buds
- ¾ cup chickpeas
- 2 tbsp flax seeds
- 3/4 cup eggplant
(Source: heartandstroke.ca)
Disclosure – This is a sponsored post, however, all thoughts and opinions on this blog are honest and my own. Information and data from heartandstroke.ca website.
We’ve been using psyllium fibre for years!
I am always on the hunt for foods to boost the fiber in my diet. Thanks for the tips 🙂
Good reminder especially around the holidays when most of us tend to forget about eating healthy!