Foods to Help Lower Cholesterol

The need for choosing foods to help lower cholesterol cannot be stressed enough.Heart disease is largely preventable and is likely to occur if your levels of bad cholesterol get too high or levels of good cholesterol fall too low.

Although you cannot change some of the risk factors, like growing older or hereditary, other causes can be reduced by making informed decisions such as choosing foods to help lower cholesterol and low cholesterol meals.

Even if you have a family history of heart disease, stack the odds in your favor by eating healthy food, exercising, and keeping a check on your cholesterol level. For example, scientists have found that eating pomegranates slow the accumulation of cholesterol in your arteries by half and may also help lower blood pressure. Ideally, your total cholesterol should be under 200. The ratio of total cholesterol to good cholesterol should be 4.5 to 1 or lower.

Foods to Help Lower Cholesterol

Eating heart healthy foods to help lower your cholesterol is easier than you think. It is no longer necessary to calculate the number of calories in each bite you take. Doctors have shifted the emphasis from counting calories at each meal to monitoring overall eating patterns.

* Increase the amount of vegetables, dried beans, and whole grains in your diet.

* Choose meals that consist of whole grains, deeply-colored vegetables, and low fat dairy products.

* Soy foods like tofu lower levels of cholesterol.

* Garlic reduces LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol.

* Make sure lean meats and poultry are included in your weekly family dinners.

* Two to three servings of fish such as salmon and tuna are recommended per week. Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which lower cholesterol.

* Use olive or canola oil instead of butter. The fats in olive oil reduce levels of bad cholesterol while raising levels of good cholesterol.

* Select foods to help lower cholesterol that are low in saturated fat and Trans fat.

* Numerous studies suggest that water-soluble fiber, the type found in oat bran, barley, prunes, and legumes reduce bad cholesterol in the blood.

* Red wine in moderation raises HDL cholesterol and reduces clotting.

* Foods to help lower cholesterol do not have to taste bland. Treat yourself to a decadent and heart smart dessert. When you think about a healthy dessert, it does not always have to be fruit. You can have chocolatey, nutty, chewy indulgence and boost your heart health by eating dark chocolate granola bars.

* For cholesterol diet free lowering look for healthful yet tasty ingredients for snacks such as reduced fat peanut butter, maple sugar, honey, egg whites, fat free evaporated milk, whole wheat flour, oats, rice cereal, cranberries, and walnuts.

Effects

Researchers have determined by lowering bad cholesterol in the blood and blocking oxidation, you can lower the risk of developing heart disease. Adding fibers such as oat bran to your diet helps lower cholesterol levels. Oatmeal contains soluble fiber that actively finds excess cholesterol, which can clog arteries and lead to heart disease, and binds with it. Your bloodstream cannot absorb cholesterol, so it is removed from your body.

In only 4 weeks, you can significantly lower your cholesterol levels by eating a bowl of oatmeal every morning for breakfast. Orange juice is proven to help reduce cholesterol. Drinking juices daily is a step in the right direction to maintaining a healthy diet of foods to help lower cholesterol.

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