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Many people can lower their cholesterol levels simply by changing their diet. For example, if you like cheeseburgers, eating less meat (and leaner cuts) and more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains can lower your total cholesterol by 25% or more. Reducing saturated fats (found in meat and dairy products) and trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) can reduce cholesterol by 5% to 10%.
How To Lower Bad Cholesterol
While diet can be a simple and powerful way to raise cholesterol levels, it plays a bigger role in some people than others. Don’t be discouraged if you’ve been following the diet but haven’t reached your goal blood levels. Keep it up. Even if you need medication to keep your cholesterol in check, you’ll likely need less than if you hadn’t changed your diet.
Eating More Soy Will Lower Your
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Changing what foods you eat can lower your cholesterol and increase the amount of fat floating in your bloodstream. Adding foods that lower LDL, the harmful cholesterol-carrying particles that contribute to artery-clogging atherosclerosis, is the best way to achieve a low-cholesterol diet.
How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally
Different foods lower cholesterol in different ways. Some deliver soluble fiber, which binds to cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive system and drags them out of the body before entering the circulation. Some give you polyunsaturated fats, which directly lower LDL. And some contain plant sterols and stanols, which prevent the body from absorbing cholesterol.
1. Oats. An easy first step to lowering your cholesterol is to have a bowl of oatmeal or cold oat-based cereal like Cheerios for breakfast. That gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. Add a banana or some strawberries for another half gram. Current nutritional guidelines recommend getting 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day, with at least 5 to 10 grams coming from soluble fiber. (The average American earns about half that amount.)
2. Barley and other whole grains. Like oats and oat bran, barley and other whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease, especially through the soluble fiber they provide.
3. Nuts. Beans are especially rich in soluble fiber. It also takes some time for your body to digest, meaning you feel full longer after eating. That is the reason that nuts are a useful food for people who are trying to lose weight. With so many options – from navy and kidney beans to lentils, garbanzos, black-eyed beans, and beyond – and so many ways to prepare them, beans are a very versatile food.
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5. Nuts. A bushel of studies show that eating almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and other nuts is good for the heart. Eating 2 ounces of nuts a day can lower LDL slightly, on the order of 5%. Nuts have additional nutrients that protect the heart in other ways.
6. Vegetable oils. Using liquid vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, safflower, and others instead of butter, lard, or shortening when cooking or at the table helps lower LDL.
7. Apples, grapes, strawberries, oranges. These fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fiber that lowers LDL.
8. Foods fortified with sterols and stanols. Sterols and stanols extracted from rubber plants improve the body’s ability to absorb cholesterol from food. Companies add it to foods ranging from margarine and granola bars to orange juice and chocolate. It is also available as a supplement. Getting 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols a day can lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%.
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9. Soybeans. Eating soybeans and foods made from them, like tofu and soy milk, have been touted as a powerful way to lower cholesterol. Analysis shows that the effect is more modest – consuming 25 grams of soy protein a day (10 ounces of tofu or 2 1/2 cups of soy milk) can lower LDL by 5% to 6%.
10. Fatty fish. Eating fish two or three times a week can lower LDL in two ways: by replacing meat, which has LDL-boosting saturated fat, and by delivering LDL-lowering omega-3 fats. Omega-3 reduces triglycerides in the bloodstream and also protects the heart by helping to prevent the onset of abnormal heart rhythms.
11. Fiber supplements. Supplements offer the most convenient way to get soluble fiber. Two teaspoons a day of psyllium, which is found in Metamucil and other bulk-forming laxatives, provides about 4 grams of soluble fiber.
When it comes to investing money, experts recommend creating a portfolio of various investments instead of putting all your eggs in one basket. The same is true for eating the way you lower cholesterol. Adding several foods to lower cholesterol in different ways should be better than focusing on one or two.
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A large vegetarian “dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods” significantly lowers LDL, triglycerides, and blood pressure. The key dietary components are plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains rather than highly refined ones, and protein mostly from plants. Add margarine enriched with plant sterols; oats, barley, psyllium, okra, and eggplant, all rich in soluble fiber; soy protein; and whole almonds.
Of course, switching to a cholesterol-lowering diet requires more attention than taking a daily statin. That means expanding the variety of foods you usually eat in your shopping cart and getting used to new textures and flavors. But it’s a “natural” way to lower cholesterol, and avoid the risk of muscle problems and other side effects that plague some people who take statins.
Just as important, a diet heavy in fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts is good for the body in ways beyond lowering cholesterol. It keeps blood pressure in check. It helps the arteries remain flexible and responsive. It is good for bones and digestion, for vision and mental.
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How To Raise Good Cholesterol And Lower Bad Cholesterol: 13 Steps
As a service to our readers, Harvard Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of the last review or update on all posts.
None of the content on this site, regardless of date, should be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or a qualified physician.
Heart symptom-free dips in blood pressure can precede unexplained falls Heart Alcohol intake increases linked to a higher risk of atrial fibrillation Heart short walk every half hour can offset harm to too much sitting
Managing Your Cholesterol offers the most up-to-date information to help you or a loved one maintain cholesterol. The report explains what cholesterol and uny levels are, and offers specific ways to keep cholesterol in line. It covers cholesterol testing and cholesterol genetics. The report also focuses on treatments based on the latest scientific evidence, including the pros and cons of statins and other medications, and provides a breakdown of other substances advertised to lower cholesterol. Managing Your Cholesterol can also help you work with your doctor to plan your treatment.
How To Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally: A Saving Guidance On The Best Way To Lower Your Cholesterol Levels, Eating Good Food Sources, Keeping A Sound … Guide & Cholesterol Lowering Solution
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