Foods To Lower Hdl Cholesterol – Your diet affects your cholesterol. To lower your cholesterol, limit foods high in saturated fat and avoid foods with trans fats. These fats raise your “bad” cholesterol (LDL). Adding more soluble fiber and plant-based foods to your diet can lower your LDL cholesterol while giving you the nutrition you need for an active, vibrant life.
Yes, what you eat can affect the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that your body needs to function. Your liver produces enough cholesterol to support your body’s processes. So you don’t need to get it from food (and it’s not an essential nutrient). The cholesterol you get from your diet is extra and unnecessary, like adding sand to the beach. That being said, your diet only affects about 20 to 30% of your blood cholesterol.
Foods To Lower Hdl Cholesterol
There are certain foods that cause your “bad” cholesterol (LDL) to rise above normal levels. On the other hand, other foods can help lower LDL levels. Knowing which foods to eat and which foods to avoid can help you manage your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Day Meal Plan To Lower Cholesterol: Recipes & Prep
The main nutritional source of cholesterol (so-called dietary cholesterol) is animal products. These include meat, cheese and dairy products.
When it comes to lowering cholesterol, research shows that it’s not dietary cholesterol that we should be worried about. Instead, two types of unhealthy fats—saturated fats and trans fats—are the culprits of elevated bad cholesterol. It just so happens that many foods high in cholesterol in the diet may also contain these unhealthy fats.
Some ingredients help lower your LDL cholesterol. The most important thing to know is soluble fiber. It is a form of fiber that is soluble in water. Soluble fiber binds around bile (which is made up of cholesterol) and removes it along with your body’s waste. Aim for 10 to 25 grams of soluble fiber per day. Ask your provider what amount is best for you based on your calorie needs.
Saturated fat is a type of fat that is solid at room temperature. Common sources of saturated fat include:
High Cholesterol Foods To Avoid (plus 3 To Eat)
Your body needs some saturated fat to be healthy. But it can be easy to eat too much if you don’t check nutrition labels. Knowing how much saturated fat is in some of your usual foods can help you find ways to reduce it.
How much is too much, you might ask? Try to get no more than 5% to 6% of your daily calories from saturated fat. The chart below offers recommended limits based on how many calories you need each day.
Keep in mind that these ranges are suggestions, not hard and fast rules. Too much focus on numbers and strict limits can lead to disordered eating habits like orthorexia. Additionally, nutritionists warn that getting too bogged down in the numbers can cause you to cut out some foods that are actually more healthy than harmful.
Olive oil, for example, contains some saturated fat, but its health benefits make it worth adding to your diet in moderation (up to four tablespoons a day). Other saturated fat foods you want to keep in your diet include avocados and walnuts.
Best Foods To Quickly Lower Cholesterol
The key is to look at the food source. It’s okay to slightly exceed the recommended ranges for saturated fat, as long as the fat comes from otherwise healthy foods. If you’re not sure, talk to a nutritionist to find out which sources of saturated fat you should eliminate and which you can keep in moderation.
Trans fats are a combination of liquid vegetable oil and hydrogen. Traditionally, fast food and processed foods have been the main source of trans fats in the human diet. This is because these foods contained partially hydrogenated oils, which acquire trans fats through the manufacturing process. However, in 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of partially hydrogenated oils in food.
While this is good news, it still doesn’t mean that fast food and processed foods are harmless. They can be high in saturated fat. Additionally, they may still contain trans fats due to the cooking method (such as frying). Your body does not need any trans fats. It harms your body and its food sources have no health benefits. So it’s best to avoid it altogether if possible.
When dieting to achieve healthy cholesterol levels, it’s important to eat foods that contain a balance of:
Which Foods That Lower Cholesterol Fat?
Eat snacks sparingly and be careful about the ones you choose. Focus on snacks that are low in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. Here are some good options for healthy snacks and recommended portion sizes:
Be careful when buying low-fat snacks or desserts at the store. Many of these treats are low in fat but high in sugar. Watch your sugar content and talk to your healthcare provider about how much sugar you can eat. This is especially important if you have a history of high blood sugar or diabetes.
One way to have a treat that is low in sugar and fat is to experiment in the kitchen with healthy dessert recipes. Many recipes have little or no sugar, yet taste great.
Cooking at home helps you stay in control of your diet. But just because something is home cooked doesn’t mean it’s healthy or good for your cholesterol. Keep these tips in mind to cook in a way that supports your healthy eating plan. Your provider or dietitian can give you many more tips.
Foods To Boost Your Good Cholesterol
The TLC diet is part of the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) program. It is a three-part program that aims to lower cholesterol through diet, physical activity and weight management. The US National Institutes of Health created this program in 1985 and some people still follow it today.
But there is a problem. This diet is too low in total fat and too high in carbohydrates, according to the latest research. So it can raise your blood sugar and triglycerides, especially if you’re not eating the healthy kind of carbs.
Dietitians instead recommend the Mediterranean diet as a healthy eating plan. This plan will help you manage your cholesterol while supporting many other aspects of your health. If you follow the Mediterranean diet, you will:
The key is to watch the types of fat you eat. The Mediterranean diet reduces your intake of saturated fat and trans fat, which can make a big difference in your LDL levels. It replaces these fats with healthy fats that support the overall health of your heart. Research shows that this diet can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally
What you eat can raise or lower the amount of cholesterol in your blood, especially the bad cholesterol that leads to atherosclerosis. This knowledge can be empowering. Your choices can make a difference. However, sometimes even your best efforts will not lower your cholesterol to where it should be. There are several reasons.
In a perfect world, everyone would have access to nutritious food, time to cook, and community resources to help them achieve their goals. In reality, we have to make decisions within the options available to us.
We all face certain constraints or factors that influence our decisions. So our individual choices are just a few pieces of a larger puzzle that our entire community puts together.
Don’t blame yourself if you face obstacles that prevent you from making all the ideal choices that support a low-cholesterol diet. Instead, do what you can and ask your provider to help fill in the gaps.
How To Control High Cholesterol, According To Patients
Scientists believe that heredity (the genes you inherit) affects your cholesterol. As a result, dietary changes help, but sometimes they can’t make a big enough dent to get your numbers into a healthy range.
Some people have very high cholesterol because their bodies cannot get rid of enough LDL cholesterol. This inherited condition is called familial hypercholesterolemia. So it is difficult for these people to lower their cholesterol by diet alone. They may also need statins or other medications.
As we age, our cholesterol levels rise. Therefore, dietary changes may not have the same impact at the age of 60 as at the age of 30.
If you’ve changed what you eat, you can hope to see changes in your cholesterol numbers immediately. But your cholesterol numbers reflect patterns that develop over time.
Cholesterol Lowering Foods: Garlic, Onion, And More
Imagine a huge blackboard with an inscription. If you run the eraser over the board once, you erase part of the writing. But you have to swipe for a while to get rid of all the typing. Meanwhile, someone is writing to the parts you just deleted. (You’re probably still eating some foods that raise your LDL, and your body is still making cholesterol!)
Be patient and give your body time to adjust to your new nutrition plan. In the meantime, incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Also, ask your provider how long it might take to see changes and whether you would benefit from medication along with a new eating plan.
The foods you eat can have a powerful effect on your health, including your cholesterol levels. If you are starting to change your diet, be patient with yourself. Don’t wait for an overhaul
