If you've been living a life of fast food consumption, the huge amount of trans fatty acids and hydrogenated oils you've consumed has clogged your arteries and perhaps damaged your body. How do you undo this damage?

First, I have a TON of pages on just what TFAs and hydrogenated oils are and why they're bad. If you haven't read up on these substances, follow the links at the bottom of this article to learn more about them. They raise your bad LDL cholesterol and even lower the amounts of good HDL cholesterol. This leads to risk of diabetes, heart attack, and is even linked to cancer and other immune illnesses.

So let's say you are now ready to try to detoxify your body. You are cutting out all TFAs and hydrogenated oils from your diet. But how do you help your body heal from the damage that was done?

Eat Good Oils and Fatty Acids
One of THE most important things to remember in your cholesterol level is that it is about a ratio. It is critical to have a good HDL rating and a low LDL rating. So you want to make sure you get your HDL rating up. To do this you need to eat healthy oils. These oils include the Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils, such as fish oil and olive oil. Some have called a regular intake of omega oils being as good as "liquid Drano" for cleaning out the harmful LDL from your arteries. More about GOOD Fatty Acids

Vitamins for Healthy HDL
It's always critical to take a good complete set of vitamins daily, and to drink 8 glasses of water to give your body the nutrients it needs to flush its system of harmful materials. But especially critical for maintaining healthy HDL levels are niacin and chromium. Make sure that you get supplements of these vitamins if your regular vitamin does not contain them.

Glass of Wine Daily
Always talk with your doctor, but many studies have shown how wine helps to keep your arteries clear and bring many beneficial health results. Wine has a direct impact on your cholesterol levels, in part due to the antioxidants naturally found in wine.

Enjoy Almonds
Almonds in particular have been shown to reduce levels of bad cholesterol in your blood. They have healthy monounsaturated fats in them which are very important for the body to work properly. FDA Approves Healthful Nuts Message

Use That Garlic
It's not just vampires that are scared off by garlic! Garlic is also shown to be GREATLY helpful in handling bad cholesterol problems. In fact in a study in Germany, those eating garlic had their cholesterol levels drop 12% in 12 weeks. Stir up that garlic chicken and enjoy garlic in your other dishes! Garlic Lowers your Cholesterol

Moderate Exercise
If you exercise, this helps to burn away bad cholesterol and build up levels of good cholesterol in your system. Also, muscle is far more calorie-burning than fat is, so that helps you maintain a healthy weight more easily. Finally there are MANY health hazards caused by being overweight. The more in shape you are, the longer you will live. And the better your life will be WHILE you live.

If you follow a healthy diet with lots of water, lots of fresh vegetables and healthy oils, you should be able to cleanse your system of the buildup of bad cholesterol and loss of good cholesterol that TFAs and hydrogenated oils caused. To track your progress, be sure to Test your Cholesterol Regularly!

Cooking Fat and Oil Chart
Cooking Oil Type and Use Chart
Good Fats, Bad Fats and Ugly Fats
Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated Good Fats
Good Fats are REALLY Good
Omega-3 Fats, Fish Oil, DHA and EPA
Olives and Olive Oil
Avoid Soybean Oil
Trans Fats, Deep Frying and Atkins


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