Reduce Cholesterol With Diets That Lower Cholesterol
If you have ever heard the term LDL, this is our “bad” cholesterol. In some of the foods we buy at the store, they have two main ingredients in them that will cause our LDL levels to increase. One of the ingredients is a type of fat that is found mostly in foods that come from animals. It is saturated fat and the other is cholesterol, which primarily originates from animal products. On average, saturated fat is what causes unhealthy cholesterol levels in certain individuals.
Heart disease is caused by having high levels of LDL which is caused by consuming too much saturated fats and cholesterol. Reducing the amount of cholesterol and saturated fat in your diet is a crucial step towards reducing your blood cholesterol levels. Lowering your cholesterol can be as easy as taking a trip down the aisle at the grocery store. There are many foods that you can choose from that will help you to improve your cholesterol.
The absorption of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad” cholesterol into your bloodstream is the main cause of having elevated cholesterol levels. By eating more soluble fiber, This will cause a reduction in your LDL levels. By eating 5 to 10 grams or more of soluble fiber per day can decrease your overall cholesterol levels. You won’t have to look very far when looking for sources of soluble fiber. Oatmeal is a great starting point. Soluble fiber is also found in foods like kidney beans, bananas, apples, pears, barley and prunes.
Eating one and a half cups of cooked oatmeal daily will provide you with six grams of fiber. Adding fruit like bananas, you will add about another four grams of fiber to your meal! Cold cereal made with oatmeal or oat bran are also excellent sources of soluble fiber and this will give you a little breakfast variety.
Other types of foods that you can add to your diet are almonds and walnuts. These are also cholesterol-lowering foods that can make a great afternoon snack. These nuts are a rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. If your blood vessels have plaque built-up in them, this can contribute to you having heart disease. Walnuts can help combat this problem. The Food and Drug Administration highly suggest eating about a handful (1.5 ounces, or 42.5 grams) a day of most nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachio nuts and walnuts, which can improve your cholesterol levels.
Nuts that are salted or coated with sugar should not be eaten in large amounts if at all. Since your overall goal is to improve your total cholesterol levels, limit yourself to just a handful of these nuts because they are high in calories. You should replace foods that are high in saturated fat with nuts. An easy way to do this is to eat a handful of walnuts or almonds instead of eating a bearclaw or a cream-filled eclair.
Also, eating fatty fish and omega-3 fatty acids is a great way to control your cholesterol. If you are at risk for developing blood clots eating foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids will reduce your chances of serious health complications in the future. In people who have already had heart attacks, the fish oil, or omega-3 fatty acids, can reduce the risk of sudden death.
Eating foods that have fish oil, or omega-3 fatty acids in them reduces the risk of sudden death. Two servings of fish a week is recommended to get the best results. For starters, you can add fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, salmon and halibut to your diet because these types of fish contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. In order to avoid adding unhealthy fat you should bake or grill the fish. If fish is not your thing, you can also get small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids from foods like ground flaxseed or canola oil.
Want to find out how can I lower cholesterol naturally, then download Todd Peterson’s FREE mini-course on how to choose the best foods for lower cholesterol.
