The foods every day you eat can play an important role to help lower cholesterol. If you have high cholesterol, maybe it is time to pay attention to your diet as the foods you eat can affect you cholesterol level. Here are four foods that lower cholesterol and protect your heart.
1. Fish. Eating more fish to lower cholesterol naturally. You may want to know why fish can lower your cholesterol, research showed that fish contains fatty acids called omega-3 fatty acids, which is effective in lowing cholesterol. Omega-3 fats in fish work to reverse the arterial damage caused by saturated fats. In addition, Omega-3 fatty acids are also helpful for reducing blood pressure and the risk of blood clots. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of sudden death in people who have already had heart attacks. To get the most benefit, you should eat the fish contain the most omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon and herring.
2. Flaxseed oil. One of cholesterol lowering foods is flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil is pressed from flaxseed and is high in monounsaturated fatty acids. Flaxseed oil contains essential fatty acids that promote good health and can help in prevention of heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and other health conditions. It increases good HDL cholesterol and lower bad LDL cholesterol.
3. Oatmeal. Study showed that oatmeal contains soluble fiber significantly lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber is also found in foods such as kidney beans, apples, pears, psyllium, barley and prunes. Eating a bowl of oatmeal each morning is a perfect way to start your day. Every 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal provides 6 grams of fiber. Ten grams or more of soluble fiber a day decrease your total and LDL cholesterol. You can add some fruits you like for a better tasting.
4. Walnuts. Walnuts are a good food recommended in lowering cholesterol. Walnuts are particularly high in polyunsaturated fat. Some studies showed that polyunsaturated fat might help lower bad cholesterol (LDL) while leaving good cholesterol unchanged. Walnuts can be cooked in many ways, you can add walnuts to your deserts. Eating walnuts is a natural way to improve cardiovascular health.
Try the above four foods to lower cholesterol and avoid foods raise your cholesterol. Meat and some oils contain saturated and trans fats which are bad for cholesterol levels.
