5 Foods to add to your Diet that Lower Cholesterol

10/8/2005

Changing your diet can lower your cholesterol ten to twenty percent. Of course eating fruits and vegetables is a good way to start, but here are the best foods for lowering your cholesterol through diet.

Anything soy is great. It's been shown that cholesterol can be lowered with 3-6 servings or 25 grams of soy protein a day. There are tons of soy options out there from edamame, soy milk, soy nuts, soy ice cream, soy cereal, soy-fortified crackers and chips, tempeh and tofu.

Beans are good too. You should try to get 3 half-cup servings each week of any kind of legume, lentil or bean. Canned or dry is equally helpful. If you are trying to cut down on meat, beans are a great way to replace your protein needs too.

It's hard to not hear about all the benefits of oatmeal lately. Every Quaker commercial spouts the glories of it. The high soluble fiber content is what makes it so good for you. It literally absorbs cholesterol and takes it out of your body. Just 3 grams of oat fiber a day decreses your total cholesterol and even more importantly your bad LDL cholesterol. You don't have to forsake convenience either, instant oatmeal works just fine. Flax is another good source of fiber that is also great if you don't eat a lot of fish, because it is high in Omega-3 fatty acids. It is also high in lignans, which also are good for cholesterol.

Nuts and seeds, like pumpkin and sunflower, lower your LDL cholesterol and raise your good HDL cholesterol because they have monounsturated fats in them. You can also find these good fats in avocados and vegetable, canola, sunflower, safflower and olive oils. Just don't go overboard because these items are also high in calories.

Last, but not least, there are the new "functional foods." Foods designed and or fortified to prevent health problems or to actually make the product healthier. Instead of using margarine or butter, use Benecol or Take Control spreads. They contain plant sterols and stanols which work like soluble fiber to lower cholesterol. These plant products can also be found in other made-to-lower-cholesterol products like granola bars, yogurt, salad dressing and even orange juice.

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