This list comes from the 100 Healthiest Foods for Women from nursingdegree.net. Although this site lists the foods are for women, I don't see why men cannot also follow these food recommendations.

A healthy cholesterol level includes having low LDL (low-density lipoprotein, bad cholesterol) and high HDL (high-density lipoprotein, good cholesterol). Eat the following foods to help lower LDL and raise HDL:

Whole wheat bread: According to Health Services at Columbia, highly processed carbohydrates such as white bread, soda, and glazed donuts have been linked with higher triglyceride blood levels and lowered HDL levels. Go for less processed carbohydrates such as whole wheat products, oats, fruits, and whole grains.
Oatmeal: Not only does this oat reduce your cholesterol, but it also contains wonderful amounts of vitamin E and C, potassium, and omega-3 EFAs.
Soy: This lovely product has been show to not only lower LDL, but also raise HDL. The best types of soy to intake include soy milk, tofu, and edamame.
Almonds: The high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in this little nut help to reduce the LDL in your body.
Fish: The polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish such as mackerel, salmon, tuna, and trout will reduce LDL.
Extra-virgin olice oil: This type of olive oil is less processed and will help to lower LDL. This oil is also high in antioxidants, which, according to Walter C. Willett's book "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy," can help protect LDL from oxidation. The oxidatoin of LDL can, in short, lead to artery-blocking clots.
Unsaturated fats: According to Willett, these fats, which include monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat, have the ability to lower LDL without also lowering HDL. Other benifits of unsaturated fats include a prevention of the increase in triglycerides, a form of fat in the bloodstream that has been linked with heart disease; a reduction in the development of erratic heartbeats; and a reduction in the tendency for clots to form in the artieries. Sources of unsaturated fats include canola oil, corn oil, safflower oil, soybean oils, fish, nuts and nut butters, and avocados.
Cranberry-grape juice: Cranberries raise HDL while grapes slow the oxidatoin of LDL.
Pomegranate juice: This juice can help to reduce the cholesterol plaque build-up and reduces plaque in the artieries.

Side note:
Garlic was originally on the list, but I took it out because this study showed that garlic does nothing for cholesterol.

What do you think about this information? What do you think about these foods? Which foods do you already eat and which would you consider eating for its health benifits?

My dog! I've always wondered what goes on in his little mind. Then perhaps I can know what each bark and whine meant. And I'd learn what it would be like to be a dog. I'd know what goes on in his head when he goes out to pee and poop. I'd know how he really feels about his kibble. And hearing his thoughts while telling him to do a command would be fun! Sometimes he gets so excited he does every command but the one I'm asking for. haha! I'd love to hear what he thinks when he's playing by himself and when he's playing with me.

Ah... I know what it life is like as my doggy.

   

I just answered this Featured Question; you can answer it too!

The following list comes from a list of the 100 healthiest foods for women. Check out the list here. I'm sure men can use this list too. I don't see how it would hurt them by doing so.

The following foods can help strengthen your cardiovascular system and help to prevent heart disease and stroke! This sounds like a good idea to give these foods a try.

Canola oil: According to this web site, the FDA claims that canola oil is good for the heart. Canola oil is made up of 93% of healthy unsaturated fats and only %7 of saturated fat; that's the lowest saturated fat percentage of any edible oil! It also contains no cholesterol and trans fat. So when you cook, substitute canola oil for the oil you usually use.
Skinless poultry: Lots of the fat in poultry can be found in the skin. Not consuming the skin makes your meal more heart-healthy.
Egg substitutes: Less fat in the eggs = a healthier heart. And if you just don't like egg substitutes, don't eat the yolk, just eat the whites! Personally, I don't like egg substitutes and don't like to eat only egg whites; what's the point? According to Harvard Health Publications, there was no connection found between egg consumption and heart disease! However, this does not mean you can eat eggs without abandon. Eating an egg a day should be alright. I obtained this egg information from this Harvard Health Publications article.
Cabbage: This leafy veggie is great for your heart! According to Prevention.com, cabbage may be able to "reduce heart inflammation that can lead to blocked arteries." To get the most out of your cabbage, eat it raw.
Onions: According to BBC News, onions "were shown to help prevent the chronic inflammation which can lead to thickening of the arteries." Don't like onions? It's okay! You don't need to consume a lot to reap its benefits! Consuming around 100g to 200g of onions has a bigger impact than consuming a large amount of onions.
Grapes: Medical New Base reports that this sweet little fruit can help lower blood pressure! An experiment done at a University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center showed that grape consumption "turned on glutathione-regulating genes in the heart and significantly elevated glutathione levels." Glutathione is an antioxidant protein that defends "against damaging oxidative stress," which occurs when one has high blood pressure and can lower the amount of glutathione. So if you've got high blood pressure or are prone to having high blood pressure, eat your grapes!
Raspberries: Berry Health Benefits Network reports that this red little berry contains anthocyanins that work as an antioxidant that protects the heart against heart disease. This red berry also contains heart and circulatory disease fighting "antioxidants such as Vitamin C, quercetin and gallic acid." Eat your raspberries people!

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Eat at Your Own Risk
The 10 most hazardous foods - and how to eat them healthfully

By Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness

When you think of "dangerous" food, it probably conjures up images of eating slugs and bugs on "Survivor." But most of the estimated 76 million Americans who experience food-borne illnesses each year are sickened by nothing more exotic than fruit, vegetables, grilled chicken or coleslaw at a summer picnic.

Here, the top 10 foods you want to consume with caution.

1. Alafalfa sprouts
The danger: "Sprouts are at the top of the list when it comes to potential problems," says Michael Doyle, Ph.D., director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. "The conditions for producing sprouts promote the growth of harmful bacteria." In order to grow sprouts, the seeds are soaked and kept moist—a prime breeding ground for bacteria. (Salmonella is the most common illness associated with sprouts).

The safer solution: While Doyle reports that some researchers are looking at ways to test the water in which sprouts are grown in order to identify batches that are contaminated, it's not yet a foolproof system, and recalls and illness outbreaks are still common. Growing sprouts yourself at home is also no guarantee of safety—the same conditions that breed bacteria in commercial sprouts can exist no matter how careful you are. Washing sprouts does not clean away harmful bacteria, so the only way to guarantee safety is to cook them. "Unfortunately, when you cook them, they pretty much disappear," says Ruth Frechman, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, who nonetheless mixes sprouts into cooked soups and stir-fries.

2. Eggs
The danger: The good news about eggs is that it's the rare egg that will make you sick. "About one in every 10,000 eggs has salmonella," says Frechman. "It's a very low risk, but you never know when it'll be your egg." And since the bacteria can be inside the egg, the only way to eradicate it is to thoroughly cook your eggs.

The safer solution: Avoid raw eggs (like in cookie dough or Caesar salad dressing) as well as undercooked ones. Runny eggs are a potential danger zone—to be safe, you want to eat them well-cooked and solid. One option: look for eggs that are pasteurized in the shells. The pasteurization kills any bacteria that might be present so you can safely eat your eggs soft boiled or over easy.

3. Rare burgers
The danger: Eating raw or very rare beef is always a bit risky. Beef has the potential for carrying salmonella or E. coli contamination. And even when the meat is produced under the most ideal conditions, there is still a risk that it can harbor bacteria. The only way to fully guarantee that it is bacteria-free is to buy meat that has been irradiated. And ground beef is more risky than, say, a steak, because it is handled more, and after being ground it has greater surface area on which to harbor bacteria.

The safer solution: While a rare burger is defined as one cooked to 140 degrees or below, a burger has to be cooked to at least 160 degrees in order to kill any bacteria and be considered safe. At 160 degrees, a burger will look more brownish than pink in the center. But Frechman recommends using a meat thermometer to check your burgers before serving to ensure you've cooked them enough.

4. Packaged greens
The danger: Leafy greens—including cut lettuces and spinach—have been responsible for several outbreaks of disease and product recalls in recent years. One of the biggest scares was the 2006 E. coli outbreak that was eventually linked to bagged spinach that sickened 199 people and was implicated in three deaths. There are many ways that bacteria like E. coli or salmonella can infect produce—from infected animal feces that infiltrate the water or soil or from handling procedures during the picking or packaging. In most situations, washing the produce will not wash away the risk.

The safer solution: "Packaged greens are not more likely to carry contamination, but it is possible that you could have less likelihood of contamination if you properly prepare a head of lettuce than if you bought it pre-packaged," says Doyle. He suggests that head lettuce, such as iceberg or romaine, is most likely to be contaminated on the outer leaves, so it's possible to remove those outer leaves, wash your hands, cutting board and knife, then prepare the rest of it. In the case of leaf lettuce and spinach, it's all equally exposed to contamination, so there isn't much you can do to minimize your risk.

5. Sushi
The danger: The primary cause for concern with sushi is the presence of parasites—tapeworms, flatworms and roundworms, for example—in the raw fish. To minimize risk, eat sashimi (sushi made with raw fish) at restaurants where the chefs not only know how to purchase the best fish, but also know how to identify and remove parasites during preparation. While no raw fish can be guaranteed safe, dipping it in soy sauce and wasabi may have a mildly antimicrobial effect.

The safer solution: Cooking fish to at least 145 degrees for a minute or more will kill any parasites residing in the fish. But then you no longer have sushi! The only way to eat it raw and still be sure it's not harboring any parasites is to eat fish that has been frozen before it became sushi. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends freezing fish to an internal temperate of -31 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 hours in order to kill parasites.

6. Chicken
The danger: Raw chicken is a notorious carrier of salmonella and campylobacter bacteria. It's fairly easy not to serve chicken that's contaminated—just make sure you cook it thoroughly with no pink showing when you cut it open (no one wants their chicken served rare anyway!). The biggest risk factors for getting sick is not from eating the chicken, but from cross-contamination during your prep and cooking.

The safer solution: Be careful when handling raw chicken. After cutting it up, immediately and thoroughly wash the knife, cutting board, the countertops and your hands to eliminate the risk of spreading the bacteria to other food in your kitchen. And when you bring the raw chicken outside to put it on the grill, take that plate back inside and get a new one on which to serve the cooked chicken.

7. Mayonnaise
The danger: Old wives' tales aside, it appears that mayonnaise really isn't all that risky. But because myths abound about food poisoning at family picnics caused by mayonnaise-laced salads, slaws and sandwiches, the condiment still made our list—if for no other reason than to debunk those myths. "The FDA standards for commercially prepared mayonnaise mean it has to have a certain pH and acidity [which were chosen] based on studies to kill salmonella," says Doyle. "So putting mayonnaise into a salad can actually have an anti-microbial effect."

The safer solution: Homemade mayonnaise is still as risky as the mayonnaise myth would have you believe. So if you do make homemade mayonnaise, be sure to keep it—and anything made with it—refrigerated at all times.

8. Cantaloupe
The danger: A recall of cantaloupe imported from Honduras because of salmonella contamination has focused attention on the melon. The rind that encases the fruit may harbor the bacteria, but it's easily transferred to the edible flesh inside once it's cut up.

The safer solution: Doyle reports that some producers treat the exterior of melons with steam to kill the bacteria without affecting the inside of the fruit. But there's no way to know if you are getting one of these treated melons. Washing the skin may help, but with so many cracks and crevices in the rind, it's not necessarily an effective solution. You can be careful with the way cut-up cantaloupe is stored (at home or at the store). "Harmful bacteria can thrive and multiply at room temperature," says Doyle, so he recommends steering clear of any cut fruit that isn't kept refrigerated.

9. Unpasturized cheese
The danger: Unless you're getting your milk fresh from the cow, chances are it has been pasteurized—a heat treatment process designed to kill bacteria (including salmonella, listeria and E. coli) present in the milk. But even those who wouldn't think of drinking unpasteurized milk may be unknowingly eating cheese made from that same untreated milk. Many soft cheeses—including brie, feta and goat cheese—are unpasteurized. Although federal regulation requires that domestic and imported unpasteurized cheeses be aged for at least 60 days, cheeses made from raw milk still carry some risk of contamination. Because of that risk, it's recommended that pregnant women, children, the elderly and anyone else with a compromised immune system avoid eating them.

The safer solution: Steering clear of unpasteurized cheese is as easy as reading the label. "The ingredients will clearly list whether the cheese contains pasteurized or unpasteurized milk," Frechman says. And while those unpasteurized versions can be delicious, just know that you're taking your chances.

10. Salad bar fixings
The danger: It may be the ultimate in convenience to swing by the salad bar and choose from a wide array of ingredients that are all chopped up and ready to mix into a customized meal. But letting someone else do all the prep work can result in some unhealthy surprises. "The biggest factors contributing to potentially unsafe salad-bar food are foods that aren't kept hot or cold enough, handling of food by workers with poor hygiene, and refilling partially used containers of perishable food with fresh food," says Doyle.

The safer solution: Be sure your salad bar food is kept at the proper temperature (cold food kept cold, hot ones heated sufficiently), that workers practice safe food handling, and that enough people buy food there to keep the supplies fresh. Also, Frechman cautions against salad bars that don’t have a sneeze guard to protect the food from airborne bacteria.

Taken from MSN Health and Fitness. Find the original article at http://health.msn.com/nutrition/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100200169&imageindex=1

I don't think I'll be eating at salad bars any more. When you think about it, there's so much chance for contamination of some sort. Plus, I did get food poisoning after eating at a salad bar one time. The cantaloupe information surprises me. I love cantaloupe! Now I'm a bit scared to eat it!

Does this surprise any one? Will you listen to the advice provided?