How to Eat Cholesterol Lowering Foods

If you want to eat "cholesterol lowering foods" to keep your heart beating well into your senior years, you are making a significant lifestyle change towards better health. While over 105 million adults in the U.S. suffer from high cholesterol, a change in diet can reduce the abundance of yellow, fat-related substances circulating in your bloodstream.

While high cholesterol can restrict blood flow and clog your arteries, super foods like oatmeal, beans, fruit, and fish can have a significant impact on blood cholesterol levels. To prevent a buildup of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from clogging your arteries, while increasing your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, use these tips to add cholesterol-lowering foods to your diet.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• low cholesterol foods
• a cholesterol diet
• fish high in omega-3
• cholesterol lowering recipes
• Coffee brewed with a filter
• Oatmeal and Grapefruit

1. Drink coffee brewed with a filter. A study completed by Johns Hopkins University showed that consuming an average of 6 cups of coffee daily increases LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol. However, if your coffee is brewed with a filter, you have removed most of the cholesterol-boosting oils that are bad for your body.

2. Choose oatmeal for breakfast. Foods with high soluble fiber are great cholesterol lowering foods. Oatmeal's dense and fiber-filled properties help to scrub the arterial walls that contain cholesterol. As an added bonus of eating oatmeal and grains, you fill up from food faster, which will help you to lose weight and consume less food.

3. Eat more grapefruit. The pectin in this fruit has cholesterol-lowering properties. A study at the University of Florida Health Center found that grapefruit pectin (found in the flesh of the fruit and the rind) lowered cholesterol an average of 7.6 percent in eight weeks. Consume two and one-half cups of grapefruit sections each day to lower your cholesterol.

4. Add fish to your diet. Salmon, albacore tuna and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Consume these cholesterol-lowering foods at least twice a week to reduce your cholesterol levels.

5. Eat beans for a low-cost cholesterol lowering food. Use beans to add six grams of soluble fiber to your diet. There are several types of beans that have cholesterol-lowering properties. Consume kidney beans, pinto, navy, lima and soybeans to manage your cholesterol intake.

Tips & Warnings

• Modifying your high-cholesterol levels is not as simple as consuming cholesterol-lowering foods. Meet with your doctor and dietician to discuss the best methods to combine medications and lifestyle changes to lower your risks of heart disease.

• Above all, to lower your cholesterol you must manage your weight, increase your exercise and consume low fat foods to keep your heart healthy.

Resources

• The Great Cholesterol Lie
• Heart Secrets to Lower Cholesterol