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Originally Posted by Seattleallstar
I am a walking time bomb at age 28, turns out I have super high cholesterol. They dont wanna put me on meds just yet cause im so young and I could still get it under control with diet. Any suggestions or help? I started the oatmeal thing today. No more fries and corned beef sandwiches
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Eat alot of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, etc. You obviously need to cut way back on junk food. As you said, you need to avoid fried foods like french fries. You can eat french fries once or twice a month, but you certainly don't want to eat them very often.
If you like eating chips, only buy baked chips, not fried chips.
You obviously don't want to eat alot of red meat. If you want to have red meat a couple times a month, it probably won't hurt you. Just don't overdue it.
As others have said, it is important to get some exercise but you don't need to become an exercise fanatic. If you get 20 minutes of cardio excercise around 4 times a week that should be enough. Rather than jogging for 20 minutes straight, I much prefer to do run/walks. I sprint 100 yards, then walk for 3 minutes, sprint 100 yards, then walk for 3 minutes and I repeat this for 20 minutes. New research has shown that this is even better for you than jogging for 20 minutes straight. The run/walk regimen burns just as many calories as jogging and the heart benefits are at least as good if not better.
Weight training is very good for you too. If you can get to the gym 2-3 times a week, that is very good for you. Not only does it build muscle but it strengthens your bones.
An additional thing that is very important that is finally starting to be publicized is the necessity of getting some sun exposure. Try to get out in the sun for about 15-20 minutes 3-4 times a week. The sun is our main source of Vitamin D, which is essential for good health. A lack of Vitamin D can cause all kinds of health problems. Many people have Vitamin D deficiencies and don't even know it. It is rarely diagnosed because most doctors do not check Vitamin D levels when you get a physical. You actually need to ask them to include it in the bloodwork, otherwise they won't do it. I am actually going to have my Vitamin D level checked when I go in for my next physical because I have never had mine checked before. When you go out in the sun for 15-20 minutes, do not wear sun-screen. Sun-screan will block out the Vitamin D. If you're going to be out in the sun for a long time and you're going to get burned, then you need to put on some sun-block. But you don't want to put on sun-block if you're just going outside for 20 minutes.