Eating the following foods can help you significantly lower your cholesterol levels.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of eating cholesterol-raising foods. But there is probably the opposite, i.e. foods that help lower cholesterol?
According to experts, changing your diet can lower your cholesterol levels. Fresh fruits, vegetables, “healthy fats” are part of a healthy diet. However, there are some “special” foods that are especially good for lowering cholesterol.
So, there are cholesterol-lowering foods that contain a good dose of soluble fiber that binds cholesterol and flushes it out of the body before it starts circulating in the blood.
Other healthy foods contain polyunsaturated fats that directly lower LDL levels. And those that contain plant sterols and stanols simply prevent the body from assimilating cholesterol.
5 foods that lower cholesterol
The following products will help you achieve your goal:
Oats (oatmeal)
The easiest way to lower your cholesterol levels is to choose oatmeal or oat-based cereals for breakfast. This gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. Add another slice of banana or a few strawberries.
Legumes
Beans are especially rich in soluble fiber. After eating it, it takes some time to digest it, which means that you feel full for a long time. This is one of the reasons beans are a good food for people trying to lose weight.
Nuts
A number of studies show that eating almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and others is good for the heart. Eating a handful of nuts (not roasted, no salt) per day can lower your LDL levels slightly, by as much as 5%. Walnuts contain additional nutrients that protect the heart in other ways.
Sterol and stanol fortified foods
Extracted from plants, sterols and stanols increase the body’s ability to absorb cholesterol from food. Companies add them to products from the “health food” category. Also available as a dietary supplement. Taking 2 grams of plant sterols or stanols per day can help lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%.
Fatty fish
Eating fish two or three times a week can lower LDL levels in two ways: by replacing meat that contains saturated fats that raise LDL levels, and by providing omega-3 fats, which reduce bad fats. Omega-3 reduces triglyceride levels in the bloodstream and also protects the heart by helping to prevent irregular heart rhythms.
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