If you want to lower cholesterol naturally, you’ll want to start by eating cholesterol lowering foods. (See, it isn’t that difficult!) Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly can help lower your cholesterol or keep a normal cholesterol level. On the other hand, lack of physical activities and poor diet can increase your cholesterol.
One of the easiest things to do is eat more plants! Most plants are high in fiber and getting more fiber is critical, because soluble fiber binds to fats and removes them directly through your GI tract. High fiber plants to make a big part of your diet include fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts, and grains.
High fiber fruits:
- Apples, 1 medium, 5.0 g
- Blueberries, 1 cup, 4.2 g
- Pears, 1 medium, 5.1 g
- Strawberries, 1 cup, 4.4 g
- Raspberries, 1 cup, 6.4 gm
Veggies are almost all good sources of fiber for lowering your cholesterol. Leading the list are:
- Avocados, 1 medium, 11.8 g
- Broccoli, 1 cup, 4.5 g
- Carrots, 1 cup, 5.2 g
- Kale, 1 cup, 7.2 g
- Peas, 1 cup, 8.8 g
- Spinach, 1 cup (cooked), 4.3 g
- Winter squash, 1 cup, 6.2 g
Grains, nuts, seeds, and seeds are more staple foods in your cholesterol lowering diet (our hunter and gatherer ancestors had it right!):
- Almonds, 1 oz, 4.2 g
- Barley, 1 cup, 6.0 g
- Black beans, 1 cup, 13.9 g
- Bran cereal, 1 cup, 19.9 g
- Brown rice, 1 cup, 7.9 g
- Flax seeds, 3 tbsp, 6.9 g
- Kidney beans, 1 cup, 11.6 g
- lentils, 1 cup, 13.6 g
- Lima beans, 1 cup, 8.6 g
- Oats (oatmeal), 1 cup (dry), 12.0 g
- Quinoa, 1 cup (cooked), 8.4 g
- Soybeans, 1 cup, 8.6 g
Other Important Cholesterol Lowering Foods
You must use cold-pressed vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola, soy, sesame, sunflower, and corn. It has been found that using these vegetable oils in your cooking reduces LDL cholesterol levels in the blood.
Lower cholesterol level by as much as 30 mg/dl with the regular use of garlic in foods or by taking garlic supplements. It helps to decrease bad cholesterol and increase artery elasticity, and is also thus a good natural remedy for hypertension.
Consumption of oily fish such as salmon, sardines and tuna reduce blood cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends that everyone gets at least 2 servings of fish per week, and people with high triglycerides need to eat even more. If that much fish is difficult for you, then it is important to get your needed Omega-3 through supplements.
The use of chromium picolinate: it has been shown to reduce total cholesterol levels and improves the ratio of LDL and HDL.
Coenzyme Q10: powerful antioxidant that improves circulation and reduces arterial blockages.
Soy Lecithin: it also reduces blood cholesterol.
Vitamin B complex controls the level of cholesterol. These vitamins are necessary for the metabolism of fats because they protect the liver from fatty deposits. Vitamin C and vitamin E are used to lower cholesterol because they improve the circulation.
Foods to Avoid
Trans Fats. These are evil. Trans fats raise your LDL “bad” cholesterol and lower your HDL “good” cholesterol. Foods that contain trans fats include most commercially prepared baked foods such as pies, tarts, cakes, pastries and energy bars.
Margarine, lard and butter: they are hydrogenated fats that clog arteries.
Dairy foods: cheeses are especially rich in saturated fats. Saturated fats are closely linked to obesity, overweight, cardiovascular disease etc. Choose low-fat or non-fat milks and cheeses in moderation.
Eggs: The egg still is an excellent and healthy food because the egg white contains protein of high biological value.
The egg yolk, on the other hand, is a mixed bag. Egg yolk is rich in cholesterol. A single egg contains about 200 mg of cholesterol (all in the yolk). But the yolk is not all bad. It provides healthy fats: phospholipids, and linoleic acid. It is also a source of choline, phosphorus, zinc and selenium, as well as vitamin A, vitamin D, B12, folic acid and biotin. Newer studies indicating that cholesterol from moderate yolk-eating does not change the values of blood cholesterol, so most people following an otherwise healthy diet can eat three or four eggs a week without causing harm. However, if your cholesterol is above normal levels then you should stick to 1-2 per week.
The best ways to cut down include using 2 egg whites in recipes instead of one whole egg, or using cholesterol free egg substitutes.
Discover Your Own Recipes to Lower Cholesterol and Health Goals right away with these Simple and Effective Healthy Meal Plans. Try Isabel’s The Diet Solution Program Today!
