10 foods to lower cholesterol

 

These whole-grains are among the best sources of soluble fibre, which blocks your body from absorbing cholesterol and helps lower LDL cholesterol.

The soluble fibre that is found in oats and barley, called beta-glucan is especially powerful. Eating oats with at least 3 grams of soluble fibre every day, for instance, can lower LDL and total cholesterol by up to ten percent.

Try eating oatmeal for breakfast and sprinkle oat bran into yogurt. Use cooked barley just as you would rice — in soups, in salads, or as a nutritious side dish mixed with vegetables.

Beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts are also wonderful sources of soluble fibre.

Try using beans to make bean-based soups. Toss beans, lentils, or peas into salads, or use them instead of meat in pasta dishes.

Get those kettles boiling, because studies have shown that green tea significantly reduces total and LDL cholesterol levels (by 7.20 mg/dL and 2.19 mg/dL, respectively).

Try sipping one to two cups daily. Also, keep in mind that many green tea varieties contain caffeine (there are decaf versions), so you don’t want to overdo it, especially just before bedtime!

While butter and other solid fats raise cholesterol levels, the unsaturated fats in oils help lower it. Polyunsaturated fats which are found primarily in corn, safflower, sesame, soybean, and sunflower oil, slash LDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats, found mainly in olive, avocado, and canola oil, not only lower LDL, but may also raise HDL.

 

Try cooking with oils instead of butter, mix them with vinegar for salad dressing, or drizzle them together with spices over vegetables before roasting. Remember, moderation is key, since oil is high in fat and calories, you should aim to stick to about 1 teaspoon with each meal.

Nuts are another really great source of monounsaturated fats. Eating 1 ounce of any kind of nuts daily for one month may lower LDL cholesterol anywhere from 8 to 20%

Try to nibble on the equivalent of 23 almonds, 35 peanuts, 14 walnut halves, 49 pistachios, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter each day. You could also try to add chopped nuts to salads, pasta, or yogurt. Nuts do have a lot of calories, so eat small portions.

These plant compounds occur  naturally in small amounts in certain fruits and vegetables, oils, nuts, seeds, and grains — and in higher amounts in certain fortified foods. They help prevent cholesterol from being absorbed, which can lower Try eating fortified foods to really reap the heart-healthy benefits of sterols and stanols. Drink a glass of sterol-fortified orange juice, which provides 1 gram. Enjoy a fortified yogurt, which has 2 grams. Smear a tablespoon of fortified dairy-spread on your whole-grain toast for breakfast.

Soy is high in fibre, low in saturated fat, and is cholesterol free.  Studies have shown that adding it to your diet to replace foods that are high in saturated fat can help lower LDL cholesterol by nearly 8 to 10 percent.

 

Try snacking on edamame beans add them to salads, drink soy milk, and use tofu as a replacement for meat in salads and stir-fries. 

Alcohol can raise levels of good HDL cookbooks by as much as 5 to 15 percent and red wine is particularly beneficial because it contains polyphenol antioxidants which may also lower LDL levels. If wine isn’t your thing, grape juice can provide some of the same heart-healthy benefits.

 

Stick to a limit of one 5-ounce glass of wine a day for women and two for men. For grape juice, stick to 8 ounces per day of purple grape juice for women and 16 ounces a day for men, choose a juice that doesn’t have any added sugar. You can also snack on purple or red grapes, which contain the same antioxidants with the added benefit of fibre,

Good news for any chocoholics out there, studies have suggested that cocoa found in dark chocolate and cocoa powder can lower LDL cholesterol by more than 5 mg/dL in people at risk of heart disease.

 

Most chocolate products also contain a lot of sugar and saturated fat in addition to the cocoa’s heart-healthy antioxidants, so don’t treat them as a health food. Instead, when you’re craving a treat, nibble on a small piece or two of dark chocolate or make chocolate milk with 2 tablespoons of natural cocoa powder.

Tomatoes are known for their cancer-fighting abilities but tomatoes may also help lower cholesterol. A recent study has shown that consuming 25 milligrams of lycopene (the antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red pigment) every day can reduce LDL by about 10 percent. This research while new and not exhausted does show promise.

 

Try drinking a glass of tomato juice, add tomatoes to salads and sandwiches, and use tomato passata on pasta and to top side dishes of vegetables.