Cholesterol Lowering Foods List – The 5 Foods That Your Body Really Wants You to Eat!
Most people know what foods to avoid to keep their cholesterol in check, such as mounds of butter or margarine, trans fats, chips, cookies, and donuts… well, the list can go on, really. But which foods that can actually assist you in reducing your levels of cholesterol? The following is a cholesterol lowering foods list, which includes the top five things you should eat in order to reduce your cholesterol levels.
1) Oats and other high-fiber foods. A number of studies have demonstrated that oats are excellent cholesterol lowering foods. The same is true for other foods like oats that are high in fiber, like legumes. The soluble fiber contained in these can help lower the bad LDL cholesterol levels by grabbing onto them and flushing them from the system.
2) Fatty fish and Omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish is an excellent example of cholesterol lowering foods, because its content of omega-3 fatty acids is high. These fatty acids help reduce the risk of forming blood clots and developing blood pressure problems. For those people who have already suffered a heart attack, omega-3 fatty acids help decrease sudden death risks. It is recommendable to eat a minimum of 2 servings of fish every week. The following types of fish contain the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids: salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, albacore tuna, halibut, and sardines.
3) Sterol- and stanol-fortified foods. Sterols and stanols are natural substances that are contained in various plants, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, seeds, and nuts. They are another group of excellent cholesterol lowering foods, as they help prevent the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream.
4) Nuts. Next on our cholesterol lowering foods list are walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, and other types of nuts. Nuts help maintain the health of your blood vessels, because they are rich in polyunsaturated fats. According to the FDA, eating 1.5 ounces or a handful of any of these nuts a day can help you decrease your risk of heart disease. Just make sure that you don’t eat nuts that are coated with sugar or salt, as they may counteract the effect.
5) Olive oil. There is a potent mix of antioxidants contained in olive oil, which makes it one of the key cholesterol lowering foods. According to the FDA, 23 grams or 2 tablespoons of olive oil should be consumed on a daily basis. It’s easy to incorporate olive oil into your diet by using it as a salad dressing, adding it a marinade, or using it to sauté vegetables in it. It would also be a good thing to substitute butter with olive oil as a dip for bread, for example.
For more information, go to:
eatwell.gov.uk
en.wikipedia.org
The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.
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7 Mar 2011