How to Lower Cholesterol With the DASH Diet

Researchers created a diet to reduce blood pressure, but an interesting thing happened along the way. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet also reduced levels of total cholesterol by an average of 7.3 percent. And the DASH diet reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol by an average of 9 percent.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Lower your cholesterol with this American Heart Association recommended diet that is heavy on the fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy. Recommended foods are also low in cholesterol

2. Provide your body with more key nutrients for optimal health. The DASH diet provides calcium, magnesium and potassium.

3. Pay attention to what the DASH diet recommends about fat intake. The diet plan uses low-fat and nonfat dairy products and lean meats to stay low in saturated fat, which contributes to high cholesterol.

4. Understand that the DASH diet tends to be higher in fiber and lower in sugar than the average diet. This may also play a part in lowering cholesterol as well.

5. Modify the DASH diet for greater results by replacing ten percent of carbohydrates with lean protein and unsaturated or monounsaturated fats. This creates an even greater heart-healthy diet.

6. Know that the DASH diet also promotes lifestyle changes. Making time for exercise and losing weight contributes to lower cholesterol.

7. Stick to the DASH diet because of the flexibility. Face it. People need flexibility because everyone's lives are so different. DASH offers guidelines so that you can create the diet that fits best with your lifestyle.

Tips & Warnings

• If you take medication to lower your cholesterol, make sure you have your cholesterol tested periodically. Some people are able to go off cholesterol-lowering medication after being on the DASH diet.
• A National Institute of Health study showed no decrease in triglycerides with the original DASH diet. Additionally, some people saw a slight decrease of HDL (good cholesterol). The lower carbohydrate version of the DASH diet seems to take care of this.

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