What Is Good To Help Lower Cholesterol – Cholesterol is a substance similar to fat produced by our body, as well as being found in some foods. It is transported in the blood via lipoproteins, mainly high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
HDL is known as the “good” cholesterol, as it helps remove cholesterol from the arteries, while LDL is called the “bad” cholesterol, as it can start to build up too much in the arteries and harden them.
What Is Good To Help Lower Cholesterol
Although cholesterol is indeed essential, playing several important roles in the body, when LDL cholesterol is elevated, it also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in Australia. Lowering cholesterol is therefore a powerful tool in preventing heart disease.
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The good news? There are several everyday foods that you can easily include in your daily diet to lower cholesterol and promote good heart health.
Plant sterols are cholesterol-like substances found naturally at low levels in many foods such as nuts, fruits and vegetables. When consumed in higher levels (2-2.5 grams per day) in fortified foods, studies have shown that they can significantly reduce bad LDL cholesterol by up to 10% by first blocking the absorption of cholesterol and promoting its elimination. Try swapping butter, high in saturated fat, for a plant-based spread fortified with plant sterols. Aim for 1 scoop of Flora ProActiv per day for best results.
Whole oats and barley are full of dietary fiber and, more importantly, beta-glucans, a type of soluble fiber, which dissolves and forms a thick gel in the digestive tract. This gel can help lower blood cholesterol by binding to excess cholesterol and increasing its excretion from the body, preventing reabsorption. Start your day with a bowl of oatmeal or barley, or try swapping your usual barley rice or pasta for a heart-friendly salad.
Psyllium husks can also lower both total and LDL cholesterol, being loaded with a massive soluble fiber content of around 70%. Around 10g of psyllium per day is the dose needed to get the benefits. Try sprinkling on cereal or muesli, adding to baked goods or simply mixing into smoothies, juice or water. The peels swell once added to liquid, so it is essential that you consume at least one glass of water for every teaspoon of peels. Psyllium is also a natural laxative, so start with a small dose and increase slowly.
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Legumes like chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans and lentils are full of soluble fiber, with cholesterol-lowering properties. They’re also an excellent source of plant-based protein that’s low in fat and virtually free of saturated fat, further increasing their heart-friendly status. Add to soups, casseroles, salads or try a puree with lemon juice, olive oil and herbs for a delicious spread.
Nuts are low in saturated fat but high in heart-friendly mono- and polyunsaturated fats, known to help lower cholesterol. They are also rich in dietary fiber, with the potential to inhibit cholesterol absorption. Aim for one serving (30g) of nuts a day.
Apples, berries and citrus fruits such as oranges are rich in a type of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber called pectin. Try swapping processed sweets, also potentially high in saturated fat, for naturally sweet fruit for dessert or a heart-healthy snack between meals. Dietary changes can have a significant impact on high cholesterol levels. Here are some of the best foods to try.
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If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, your doctor will probably advise you to start by changing your diet. Dietary changes can help lower cholesterol levels in people with high cholesterol. “Food is going to be your first line of treatment,” said Emily Schmidt, RDN, a registered dietitian at the Mayo Clinic.
Ways To Lower Ldl Cholesterol
High cholesterol is a condition that, over time, can lead to a number of health problems, such as heart attack or stroke. If the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, often called “bad” cholesterol, is too high, it can build up on the walls of the arteries, forming plaque. If one of these plaques breaks, a blood clot can form that blocks blood flow and causes a heart attack or stroke.
“The biggest impact on our cholesterol levels comes from replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat,” says Kevin Klatt, PhD, RD, a nutrition researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Eliminating these foods from your diet is a good first step to improving your LDL.
The second step is to add foods that help lower LDL. An important category is foods that contain heart-healthy fats, such as a number of fatty fish, and plant-based fats, such as those found in nuts, seeds, and plant-based oils.
Another important group of foods are those that contain soluble fiber, which can be found in certain fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Soluble fiber works by binding to bile, which contains cholesterol, and removing it from the body.
Diet Plan To Lower Cholesterol And Lose Weight
“A high-fiber diet has been shown to be effective in lowering cholesterol,” says Julia Zumpano, RD, a dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic.
In addition to containing soluble fiber, plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the August 2019 Journal of the American Heart Association.
While these changes may seem intimidating, incremental improvements can really add up, whether it’s reducing the amount of highly processed foods you eat or finding ways to add heart-healthy foods. “It’s all about balance,” says Schmidt. “You don’t have to eat perfectly to have optimal cholesterol levels.”
Adding beans to your diet is fantastic for your health in a number of ways. The first is that beans are a good source of protein and can be used in place of foods that contain large amounts of saturated fat. “Beans are a great substitute for meats,” says Zumpano. The second is that beans are high in soluble fiber, which can help lower LDL levels.
Cholesterol Lowering Foods To Add To Your Diet Today
Incorporate more beans into your diet by adding them to soups, salads or burritos. You can also swap a beef burger for a black bean burger.
Nuts are an excellent source of protein, unsaturated fat and soluble fiber. When used as a substitute for animal products that contain saturated fat, they discourage elevated LDL cholesterol levels, while their soluble fiber can help lower LDL. There is also evidence that nuts can reduce the risk of heart disease.
Since nuts are very energy dense, you’ll want to limit your serving size to about an ounce and make sure the brand you choose is low in added sugars and salts. You can bring them into your diet in the form of a handful as a snack, sprinkle them on a salad or add nut butter to a sandwich or smoothie.
Vegetable oils, in general, are a good source of heart-healthy fats, as long as they are liquid at room temperature. Olive oil, in particular, is a very good oil for the heart, which can replace unhealthy fats and promote good cardiovascular health.
Foods That Can Help Lower Cholesterol
In a recent study, published in the November 2021 issue of the journal Stroke, participants who ate a Mediterranean diet rich in extra virgin olive oil had slower progression of plaque formation than participants who ate a low-fat diet.
Add olive oil to your diet by using it in place of butter on your bread, use it in vinaigrettes, and use it for sautéing, frying, and baking.
If you’re worried about how olive oil will handle higher heat, a study published in the journal Acta Scientific Nutritional Health in June 2018 showed that extra virgin olive oil was the most stable cooking oil, resisting degradation better than oils with a higher smoke point. .
Seeds are often overlooked as a source of heart-healthy fats, and they also contain a lot of soluble fiber. “Seeds do double duty, because not only do they have fiber, but they also have unsaturated fats,” says Schmidt.
Foods That Lower Cholesterol
Examples include chia, flax, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. When it comes to adding these to the diet, possible ways include adding ground flaxseeds to a bowl of oatmeal, using sunflower butter on a sandwich, adding chia seeds to a pudding, or eating a snack of roasted pumpkin seeds.
Apples are an excellent source of soluble fiber, which helps lower LDL levels. Research published in the European Journal of Nutrition showed that study participants who ate 550 grams of apples a day had lower cholesterol levels at the end of the study. This effect was not seen in study participants who drank plain apple juice, which had the fiber removed.
Since fiber is mostly found in the skin of apples, you’ll want to keep the skin on. Ideas for adding apples include eating them whole as a snack, eating sliced apples with heart-healthy natural peanut butter, or making applesauce without the skin.
“Anything with avocado is going to have a very good ratio of monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fats,” says Schmidt. While both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are actually good for lowering cholesterol, “an excess of polyunsaturated fats can also lower good [HDL] cholesterol,” says Schmidt.
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What you want to aim for is a balance of the two
