8 Foods to lower cholesterol
8 Foods to lower cholesterol 
8 Foods to lower cholesterol. / If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, your doctor will most likely advise you to start by modifying your diet. Dietary changes can help lower cholesterol levels in individuals with high cholesterol. “Food is going to be your first line of treatment,”
High cholesterol is a condition that, over time, can lead to several health issues. Such as a heart attack or stroke. If the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is often referred to as “bad” cholesterol, gets too high. It can build up in the walls of your arteries, forming plaque. If one of these plaques ruptures, a blood clot can form, blocking blood flow, and leading to a heart attack or stroke.
Diet Is an Important Way to Lower Your Cholesterol
High LDL levels are often the result of a diet rich in saturated fats or trans fats.
Saturated fats are found in things like:
Beef
Butter
Lard
Whole-milk dairy products
Trans fats are frequently found in highly processed foods.
“The largest impact on our cholesterol levels comes from replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats,”. Eliminating these foods from your diet is a good first step in improving your LDL.
The second step is to add in foods that help lower your LDL. One important category is foods that contain heart-healthy fats. Such as a number of fatty fish, and plant-based fats, such as those found in nuts, seeds, and plant-based oils.
Another important group of foods are those that contain soluble fibre, which can be found in certain fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Soluble fibre works by binding to bile, which contains cholesterol, and removing it from the body.
“A high fibre diet has been shown to be effective in lowering cholesterol,”.
In addition to containing soluble fibre. Plant-based diets have been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, as reported in a study published in the August 2019 Journal of the World Heart Association.
Although these changes can seem intimidating, incremental improvements can really add up. Whether it’s cutting down on the amount of highly processed foods you eat or finding ways to add in heart-healthy foods. It’s all about balance. “You don’t have to eat perfectly to have optimal cholesterol levels.”
Here are eight foods that can help lower your cholesterol.
8 Foods to lower cholesterol
1 Beans
Beans
Adding beans to your diet is fantastic for your health in a number of ways. The first is that beans are a good source of protein and can be used in place of foods that contain high amounts of saturated fats. “Beans are a great replacement for meats.” The second is that beans are high in soluble fibre. Which can help lower LDL levels.
Get more beans into your diet by adding them to soups, salads, or burritos. You can also swap a beef burger for a black bean veggie patty.
2 Nuts
Nuts
Nuts are an excellent source of protein, unsaturated fats, and soluble fibre. When used as a replacement for animal products that contain saturated fats. They discourage high LDL cholesterol levels, while their soluble fibre can help reduce LDL. There’s also evidence that nuts can lower your risk of heart disease.
Since nuts are very energy-dense. You’ll want to limit your serving size to about one ounce, and make sure the brand you choose is low in added sugars and salts. You can bring them into your diet in the form of a handful as a snack. Sprinkle them on a salad, or add nut butter to a sandwich or smoothie.
3 Olive Oil
Olive Oil
Plant-based oils, in general, are a good source of heart-healthy fats, as long as they are liquid at room temperature. Olive oil, in particular, is a very good heart-healthy oil. One that can replace unhealthy fats and promote good cardiovascular health.
In a recent study, published in the November 2021 issue of the journal Stroke. Participants who ate a Mediterranean diet rich in extra-virgin olive oil had a slower progression of plaque formation than participants who ate a low-fat diet.
Add olive oil to your diet by using it in place of butter on your bread, using it in vinaigrettes, and using it to sauté, fry, and roast.
If you are worried about how olive oil will handle higher heats, a study published in the journal Acta Scientific Nutritional Health in June 2018. It’s shown that extra-virgin olive oil was the most stable cooking oil, resisting degradation better than oils with a higher smoke point.
4 Seeds
Seeds
Seeds are often overlooked as a source of heart-healthy fats, and they also contain a lot of soluble fibre. “Seeds do double duty, because not only do they have the fibre, but they also have unsaturated fats,” Schmidt says.
Examples include chia, flax, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds. When it comes to adding these into the diet, possible ways include adding ground flaxseeds to a bowl of oatmeal. Using sunflower butter in a sandwich, adding chia seeds to a pudding, or eating a snack of roasted pumpkin seeds
5 Apples
Apples
Apples are an excellent source of soluble fibre, which helps lower your LDL levels. Research published in the European Journal of Nutrition showed that study participants who ate 550 grams of apples a day had lower cholesterol levels by the end of the study. This effect was not seen in study participants who drank clear apple juice, which had the fibre removed.
Since the fibre is primarily found in the skins of apples, you will want to keep the peel on. Ideas for adding in apples include eating them whole as a snack. Eating sliced apples with some heart-healthy natural peanut butter, or making no-peel applesauce.
6 Avocados
Avocados
“Anything with avocado is going to have a really good ratio of monounsaturated versus polyunsaturated fats,” Schmidt says. Although both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are really good at lowering your cholesterol, “too much of only the polyunsaturated fats can lower your good [HDL] cholesterol too,” Schmidt says.
What you want to aim for is a balance of the two types of unsaturated fats, which you can do by making sure your diet has a variety of heart-healthy fats in it.
To add in more avocado. You can use avocado oil in cooking, or you can add the fruit to your salads, sandwiches, or burritos.
7 Fatty Fish
Fatty Fish
Adding in fatty fish, such as anchovies, black cod, mackerel, or salmon can lower your cholesterol in several ways. First of all, fatty fish can be used as a substitute for other protein sources that have a lot of saturated fats. Second, fatty fish have a good blend of unsaturated fats. Including omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.
8 Filtered Coffee
Filtered Coffee
If you are a regular coffee drinker who needs to watch her cholesterol. It’s a good idea to be mindful of the types of coffee you are drinking.
“Unfiltered coffee, such as espresso and French press coffee. Contains fatty compounds called terpenes that can raise our cholesterol levels,” Dr. Klatt says. If you regularly drink espresso or French press coffee. It’s a good idea to replace it with filtered coffee, such as drip coffee.