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Nutrition and Your Cholesterol Level
Reduce your cholesterol with these nutritious natural foods
Maybe your doctor has encouraged you to change to a healthier diet to lower cholesterol or maybe you’re simply looking to make better food choices to support heart health before problems occur. While you may already know that cholesterol occurs naturally in foods like red meat and eggs, there are also foods that help to lower your cholesterol naturally.
Having high total cholesterol, or low levels of HDL cholesterol (known as good cholesterol) in combination with high levels of LDL cholesterol (known as bad cholesterol), puts people at increased risk for developing heart disease.
Obvious dietary changes that support healthy cholesterol levels include reducing the amount of animal products you consume, but you can do more than just reduce your intake of cholesterol—you can also consume foods that naturally lower it. The following foods all contain cholesterol-fighting properties that raise your HDL, lower or your LDL or both.
Cholesterol Balancing Tips
High cholesterol is a condition many adults face as they head into their middle years. To combat this problem, many are turning to foods for lowering LDL cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein or “bad cholesterol.” These foods generally include fruits and vegetables, as well as some whole grain breads.
To help balance your cholesterol levels, choose meats that are lean, substitute low-fat margarine for butter and avoid fast food and foods that have trans fats.
Exercise goes hand in hand with healthy eating. Dropping bad habits such as smoking and excessive alcohol intake, while at the same time following a diet that is high in fiber and low in fat, will help tremendously in the fight to control high cholesterol. In fact, if you follow a high fiber diet and get enough exercise, within as little as eight weeks you can see a change in overall blood cholesterol numbers.