Top 20 Foods to Lower Your Cholesterol
The higher the test score the better, right? Not when it comes to your cholesterol. If yours is climbing over 200, it’s time to take action. But there’s a much more natural solution than popping prescription medicines. Unless you’re in the red zone, a few simple changes in diet can make all the difference. Try these tasty organic treats.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is rich in soluble fiber, which cuts down the amount of cholesterol your intestines absorb. Aim for at least 10 grams each day to reduce your low-density lipoprotein levels.
Salmon
Two servings per week of wild salmon pump your body with enough omega-3 fatty acids to lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol and boost your high-density lipoproteins.
Olive Oil
Powerful antioxidants present in olive oil decrease the low-density lipoproteins in your system. Extra-virgin olive oil is most effective.
Almonds
Almonds are a great source of plant sterols, which impede your body’s absorption of cholesterol. (But, don’t overdo it because they’re also crammed with calories.)
Avocados
Unsaturated fats in avocados augment your body’s level of high-density proteins and lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Blueberries
Blueberries contain copious amounts of pterostilbene, a compound that is known to effectively cut cholesterol. Eat all you like!
Pistachios
Pistachios are loaded with selenium, an antioxidant that prevents coronary artery disease.
Walnuts
Walnuts contain a plentiful supply of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which help lower cholesterol and maintain the healthy, elastic texture of blood vessels.
Tuna
Like salmon, tuna is full of omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce levels of low-density lipoproteins and triglycerides. (Be sure to buy from sustainable sources.)
Apples
An abundant source of both soluble and insoluble fibers, an apple a day really can keep the doctor away by lowering cholesterol, preventing arteries from hardening and protecting your body against heart attacks and strokes.
Brown Rice
Whole brown rice contains oils that reduce your body’s cholesterol level, not to mention its profusion of fiber and magnesium.
Cinnamon
Treat yourself to a teaspoon of cinnamon each day to decrease the amount of low-density lipoproteins and triglycerides in your system.
Grapes
To resist mold, grapes naturally produce flavonoids. This multi-purpose compound also prevents platelet clumping and free radical damage in LDL cholesterol.
Strawberries
Antioxidants present in strawberries cut low-density lipoproteins and keep them from oxidizing, a process that makes this type of cholesterol even more damaging.
Broccoli
Like oatmeal, beans and apples, broccoli is plentiful in soluble fiber, which does wonders for high cholesterol.
Hazelnuts
The monosaturated fats found in hazelnuts reduce LDL cholesterol and protect against coronary artery disease.
Sunflower Seeds
Like almonds, sunflower seeds are a rich source of plant sterols, which block cholesterol.
Whole Grain
Take your pick: whole grain bagels, waffles, bread, muffins, crackers, pancakes, seasoned popcorn (no butter), or cooked whole grains like amaranth and quinoa and more decrease the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Ingesting 5 grams or more on a daily basis should do the trick.
Beans
Packed with vegetable protein and soluble fiber, dishes like hummus and bean soup, dip or salad keep high cholesterol at bay.
Garlic (shown at top)
In addition to preventing blood clots and killing fungi and bacteria, the chemical allicin found in garlic can help lower your cholesterol. But, you might want to keep some breath mints on hand.
The bottom line? More plants! Eating lower on the food chain is just as good for you as it is for the planet.
P.S. Don’t forget to make organic, local, seasonal choices when possible.
Source: wikipedia
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5 Comments
April 7th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Great food choices for improving overall health. A healthy diet doesn’t just help cholesterol numbers. It also is critical for people with diabetes and prediabetes. On my blog at http://www.dentistryfordiabetics.com/blog I write extensively about diet and health. I talk about links between diabetes, heart attack and stroke and also about the importance of dental care to overall physical health.
Charles Martin, DDS
Founder, Dentistry for Diabetics
April 7th, 2009 at 8:42 am
I’ve read about these as “super foods” and they are all wonderful. Wish I knew how to incorporate pumpkin more into our diets other than pie or soup. I hear it is a great super food, as well.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Luanne, you can use pumpkin almost any way you can use other squashes. Here is a yummy pasta recipe from Cooking Light which uses pumpkin in the sauce: http://tinyurl.com/4wccjm
April 13th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Great list Amy–all super healthy and delicious
I would add a cautionary mention about tuna. People should really limit their consumption of tuna due to high likelihood of mercury contamination. And pregnant women and children shouldn’t eat it at all. The smaller, shorter lived species of tuna like skipjack and yellowtail are less likely to have high levels of mercury and are usually more sustainable, but sometimes species information isn’t available to consumers. Even canned tuna has a lot of mercury, especially albacore. The reason the FDA didn’t add tuna to the list of fish to avoid was due to lobbying by the canned tuna industry. Also, even the smaller tunas have problems with bycatch because of the way they are caught.
I had to jump in for two reasons: I had a friend who got very sick from mercury poisoning just eating canned tuna and occasional sushi. She had no idea that could happen, so I thought it deserved a mention. And, I just finished reading Bottomfeeder (a sad and wonderful book that goes into great detail on the issues with all fish), so I’m a little obsessed with fish right now, so please don’t take this as criticism.
Tuna is one of my favorite foods, but I don’t really feel like I can eat it anymore.
Vanessa’s last blog post..Pinto Bean Fattoush Salad
April 13th, 2009 at 6:43 am
I meant Tina, not Amy. Sorry!
Vanessa’s last blog post..Pinto Bean Fattoush Salad
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