8 foods that help reduce cholesterol
By The Headlines, June 25, 2023 | 09:49 PM
A diet reduced in cholesterol-containing foods can help lower elevated levels.
Cholesterol can be reduced and the amount of lipids floating through your system can be improved by changing the foods you eat. The best strategy to attain a low-cholesterol diet is to include foods that reduce LDL, the dangerous cholesterol-carrying particle that contributes to artery-clogging atherosclerosis.
Including these foods to reduce LDL cholesterol
Various foods can decrease cholesterol in different ways. Some foods contain soluble fibre, which binds to cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive tract and pushes them outside the body before they circulate. You can get polyunsaturated fats from some, and these directly lower LDL. Additionally, some of them contain stanols and plant sterols, which prevent the body from absorbing cholesterol.
1. Oats.
A bowl of oatmeal or cold oat-based cereal like Cheerios for breakfast is a simple first step towards decreasing your cholesterol. It contains 1 to 2 grammes of soluble fibre. Add another half-gram with a banana or strawberries. Current dietary recommendations recommend 20 to 35 grammes of fibre per day, with at least 5 to 10 grammes coming from soluble fibre. (The ordinary American receives almost half that amount.)
2. Beans
Beans are particularly high in soluble fibre. They also take longer for the body to digest, so you feel fuller for longer after eating. That's one reason beans are a good choice for people attempting to lose weight. Beans are an extremely flexible cuisine, with so many different methods to prepare them, ranging from navy and kidney beans to lentils, garbanzos, and black-eyed peas.
3. Whole grains such as barley
Barley and other whole grains, including oats and oat bran, can help lessen the risk of heart disease, owing to the soluble fibre they provide.
4. Nuts
Research indicates that consuming almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and other nuts is beneficial to the heart. Eating 2 ounces of nuts each day can reduce LDL by about 5%. Nuts contain additional nutrients that are beneficial to the heart.
5. Okra and eggplant
These two low-calorie vegetables are high in soluble fibre.
6. Soy
Eating soybeans and dishes produced from them, such as tofu and soy milk, was previously promoted as an effective cholesterol-lowering agent. According to studies, taking 25 grammes of soy protein per day (10 ounces of tofu or 2 1/2 cups of soy milk) will lower LDL by 5% to 6%.
7. Fish
Eating fish twice or three times per week can help lower LDL in two ways: by replacing meat, which contains LDL-boosting saturated fats, and by supplying LDL-lowering omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fatty acids lower triglycerides in the bloodstream and protect the heart by preventing the emergence of irregular cardiac rhythms.
8. Fibre Supplements
Supplements are the least appealing source of soluble fibre. Psyllium, which is present in Metamucil and other bulk-forming laxatives, provides roughly 4 grammes of soluble fibre per teaspoon.
