Most of these off-the-shelf cholesterol blockers work by blocking the absorption of either fats or cholesterols in your digestive system. Usually, they bind with the fats and carry them through your system in an undigestible form. The beans and oats work in a somewhat different way. As indigestible fiber food "sponges," they pick up fats and allow them to slip through your digestive tract. As fiber, they also rush other fat-containing foods through your pipes, so less of the food (and its fat) is digested. If I were eating oatmeal daily, I might consider it for dinner, rather than breakfast.
A few things to consider, just my opinions...
As opposed to what was originally presented by the medical community, dietary cholesterol is now considered to be only a minor component in serum cholesterol (cholesterol in your blood). Saturated fats in the diet are a much greater contributor to your serum cholesterol levels. Avoid them. The percentages for daily allowance of saturated fats on food labels are not saying that you should have that much fat every day, but rather that you shouldn't have any more than that amount in a day.
Read labels. Labels are shocking. They also show serving size. Many "individually wrapped" food items are shown as more than one serving on their labels. Actually realizing how much fat is in an item can really make you lose your appetite for it - and resent that people even sell it.
There are fat-free hot dogs and heavily reduced-fat hot dogs. There are turkey burgers that have very little fat. Clams and shellfish have some cholesterols - but very little fat. Cut the fat off of your meat. Stop putting butter, margarine and cream cheese on everything. Eat potatoes without sour cream and bacon. If you eat bacon, cut the obvious fat off of it - you can reduce its fat content by over 90% by just getting rid of the visible fat. Eat toast dry. (I've been doing these things for years. I trade those off for fats that are really worth dying for - like premium ice cream or Vermont cheddar cheese.) You'll find that you get used to small things like these faster and much easier than you can avoid salt. I don't watch my diet like a hawk, but things like this just make sense. Why use your fats up on second-string foods that you barely bother to taste?
Any time you go out to eat, you're getting a big scoop of fats and salt. Be aware of it in your overall eating patterns.
If you're taking something to block fat absorption, don't take it with vitamins, and absolutely not with your fish oil supplements. The components found in fish oils (and some plant oils) have been shown to improve the ratio of good to bad serum cholesterols. Take them at different times from the fat blockers, or they could potentially cripple each other's effects (I'd do the fish oil early, the plant sterols at least a few hours later). The fat-blocking products aren't "smart bombs," and don't know which fats are good fats, and which are bad. And that includes oats and garbonzo beans.
Best wishes,
A few things to consider, just my opinions...
As opposed to what was originally presented by the medical community, dietary cholesterol is now considered to be only a minor component in serum cholesterol (cholesterol in your blood). Saturated fats in the diet are a much greater contributor to your serum cholesterol levels. Avoid them. The percentages for daily allowance of saturated fats on food labels are not saying that you should have that much fat every day, but rather that you shouldn't have any more than that amount in a day.
Read labels. Labels are shocking. They also show serving size. Many "individually wrapped" food items are shown as more than one serving on their labels. Actually realizing how much fat is in an item can really make you lose your appetite for it - and resent that people even sell it.
There are fat-free hot dogs and heavily reduced-fat hot dogs. There are turkey burgers that have very little fat. Clams and shellfish have some cholesterols - but very little fat. Cut the fat off of your meat. Stop putting butter, margarine and cream cheese on everything. Eat potatoes without sour cream and bacon. If you eat bacon, cut the obvious fat off of it - you can reduce its fat content by over 90% by just getting rid of the visible fat. Eat toast dry. (I've been doing these things for years. I trade those off for fats that are really worth dying for - like premium ice cream or Vermont cheddar cheese.) You'll find that you get used to small things like these faster and much easier than you can avoid salt. I don't watch my diet like a hawk, but things like this just make sense. Why use your fats up on second-string foods that you barely bother to taste?
Any time you go out to eat, you're getting a big scoop of fats and salt. Be aware of it in your overall eating patterns.
If you're taking something to block fat absorption, don't take it with vitamins, and absolutely not with your fish oil supplements. The components found in fish oils (and some plant oils) have been shown to improve the ratio of good to bad serum cholesterols. Take them at different times from the fat blockers, or they could potentially cripple each other's effects (I'd do the fish oil early, the plant sterols at least a few hours later). The fat-blocking products aren't "smart bombs," and don't know which fats are good fats, and which are bad. And that includes oats and garbonzo beans.
Best wishes,
