Dieting to reduce cholesterol can help bring your levels down while curbing fat absorption from foods like LDL (the harmful cholesterol-carrying molecule that leads to arterial blockages and atherosclerosis) is key. By adding foods which lower LDL, your chances of success increase dramatically when trying for a diet with reduced levels.
Add These Foods To Bring Down Ldl Cholesterol
Foods that help lower cholesterol can take many forms. Some provide soluble fiber, which binds cholesterol precursors in your digestive system and moves them out before they enter circulation; others offer polyunsaturated fats which directly lower LDL; yet others contain plant sterols or stanols which prevent your body from absorbing cholesterol directly.
- Oats. To start your cholesterol lowering efforts off right, start off your day right by eating a bowl of oatmeal or cold oat-based cereal like Cheerios for breakfast – this will give you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber; adding fruit like bananas or strawberries could add another half-gram or so. Current nutritional guidelines advise consuming 20 to 35 grams per day with at least 5-10 grams being from soluble sources.
- Grain And Other Whole Grains.Oats and other whole grains such as barley can help lower coronary risk through their rich source of soluble fiber, but other whole grains like grain may also offer this protection.
- Beans. Beans are packed with soluble fiber and take longer for your body to digest than other food, keeping you feeling full for longer after meals. That makes beans an effective food when trying to lose weight; not to mention there are so many varieties such as navy force and kidney beans as well as lentils, garbanzos and dark-eyed peas available to choose from when creating different recipes! With such versatility at your fingertips beans are truly an amazing food choice.
- Eggplant And Okra. Eggplant and okra are two excellent sources of soluble fiber and should be eaten regularly as low-calorie vegetables.
- Nuts. A multitude of studies indicate that eating almonds, walnuts, peanuts and other nuts is beneficial to heart health. Eating two ounces a day has been shown to slightly decrease LDL by approximately five percent – plus nuts contain extra nutrients that protect heart in various ways.
- Vegetable Oils. . Switching from using margarine, fats or shortening in cooking and at the table to using fluid vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower and safflower oil helps lower LDL.
- Apples, Grapes, Strawberries, Citrus Fruits. Apples, grapes, strawberries and citrus fruits contain gelatin which acts as a type of soluble fiber which reduces LDL.
- Foods sustained With Sterols And Stanols. Sterols and stanols extracted from plants reduce our bodies’ capacity to absorb cholesterol from food, so companies are adding it to foods like margarine, granola bars, squeezed orange juice, chocolate and squeezed orange flavored water bottles containing 2 grams or stanols or plant sterols daily in supplements to bring down LDL cholesterol by 10% or more.
- Soy. Eating soybeans and foods produced using them, similar to tofu and soy milk, was once promoted as a strong method for lowering cholesterol. Analyses show that the impact is more modest – consuming 25 grams of soy protein daily (10 ounces of tofu or 2 1/2 cups of soy milk) can bring down LDL by 5% to 6%.
- Fatty Fish. Eating foods made with soybeans such as tofu and soy milk was once seen as a way to reduce cholesterol quickly, such as tofu. But analyses indicate the impact is more modest; daily consumption of 25 grams of soy protein (10 ounces of tofu or 2 1/2 cups of soy milk) can bring LDL down by five-percentage points at most.
- Fiber Supplements. Fiber supplements provide the easiest and least-obtrusive way to obtain soluble fiber, with two teaspoons daily of psyllium found in Metamucil or mass shaping laxatives yielding approximately 4 grams of soluble fiber.
Assembling A Low Cholesterol Diet
Financial experts generally suggest diversifying investments and diversifying investments when investing money, just as experts advise diversifying methods for lowering cholesterol through diet; rather than relying solely on one food to do this job. When it comes to cholesterol reduction diet, experts believe adding multiple food choices with different effects on lowering it would work more efficiently than simply focusing on one or two methods alone.
An extensive vegetarian “dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods” can dramatically lower LDL, triglycerides and blood pressure. Key dietary components of such a plan include an abundance of fruits and vegetables; whole grains instead of highly refined ones; plant protein sources (notably margarine enriched with plant sterols); oatmeal, grains, psyllium okra eggplant rich in soluble fiber as well as soy protein; as well as whole almonds for further added benefit.
But adopting a diet designed to lower cholesterol requires more thought than simply popping daily statin pills. Doing so requires expanding the variety of food you purchase and becoming familiar with new textures and flavors; but ultimately this method provides quick relief without risking muscle problems or adverse side effects common to taking statins.
As important, eating lots of fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts can benefit your body in more ways than one – not only in lowering cholesterol but also by keeping blood pressure under tight control and making arteries more flexible and responsive; not to mention its benefits to bones, digestive health, vision and psychological wellness.
