Cholesterol Lowering Diet Tips

Recent scientific research suggests eating more of some foods, such as salmon, walnuts and oatmeal may help control your cholesterol. Additionally, it’s important to limit foods high in fat and cholesterol to help lower your blood cholesterol levels.

Limit Your Intake of Animal Products
The most important fact you need to know when considering a cholesterol-lowering diet is that cholesterol comes from animals. If you eat meat, drink milk, eat cheese, or eat eggs, you are getting cholesterol from your food. Reducing your intake of animal products is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your overall cholesterol levels.

Increase Your Intake of Plant Foods

Plant foods contain no cholesterol, so increasing your intake of plant foods is a good idea. Plant foods are also high in fiber, which traps and removes cholesterol before the body has a chance to digest it.

Examples of plant foods include the following:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Rice
• Pasta
• Flour
• Beans
• Seeds
• Seaweeds

Cholesterol Lowering Foods

In addition to these general recommendations, there are many specific foods that can help lower cholesterol. Including these foods in your daily intake is beneficial if your goal is to limit this damaging substance from entering your body.

According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the best foods to help reduce cholesterol include the following:

Oat bran
Nuts
Fish
Soy
Foods fortified with plant sterols

Choose Healthy Fats

The types of fats you eat can also affect cholesterol levels, even if the foods themselves don’t contain it, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Monounsaturated fat, found in foods like olive oil, lowers LDL and raises HDL, for example. So do polyunsaturated fats such as corn oil and soybean oil.

Saturated fat, which is found in whole milk dairy products, red meat, coconuts, and coconut products, raises both LDL and HDL, while trans fats, found in many fried foods, margarine, and anything with partially hydrogenated oils, raises LDL levels.

One easy way to tell what kind of fat you’re eating is that saturated fat is solid at room temperature. Polyunsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature. Because many fatty products are refrigerated, you might not see them at room temperature, so always read the label. Read nutrition labels when shopping, as well. Avoid foods that contain trans-fats and limit your intake of foods that contain saturated fats.

Quick Tips

• Try these low-cholesterol diet tips:Keep fatty, high-cholesterol foods such as sour cream and ice cream out of your house.
• Replace the butter and trans-fatty oils in your cupboard with olive oil and coconut oil.
• If you love eggs, try a cholesterol-free egg substitute instead of whole eggs.
• Use vegetables lightly sautéed in olive oil instead of a cream sauce on your next pasta dish.
• Substitute white wine vinegar or vegetable broth instead of butter to keep your pan moist while cooking. Both are fat- and cholesterol-free.
• Use herbs and spices to add flavor to dishes.
• Follow a diet plan that is proven to help lower cholesterol levels.