How to Change Your Diet to Lower Cholesterol

In the last post, I talked about cholesterol – the good and the bad and its effects on the body. Now, what if you have just had your blood works and it seems that your cholesterol is way higher than 200.  A total cholesterol score below 180mg/dL is considered optimal, according to the American Heart Association.

Would you immediately go to the drugstore to get a cholesterol reducing medicine? Before you do so, why not consult your doctor first regarding attempting to lower your cholesterol by means of changing your lifestyle. This post is about some suggestions on how to change your diet to lower your cholesterol intake.

Eat fiber-rich fruits and vegetables.
Image by Gila Grand at en.wikipedia, CC by 2.5

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Add More Fiber

One of the first steps you can take is to add fiber in what you eat. Dietary fiber comes from plants and aids to lower the cholesterol in your blood. You may increase your dietary fiber by consuming a lot more fruits and veggies. Eating beans also adds fiber to your diet. These are an excellent alternative to eating meat in your day-to-day diet.

You may also increase your fiber by consuming whole grain food items like whole wheat bread or pasta and brown rice. You may also consider fiber supplementation to increase the amount of fiber in what you eat.

Have More Sterols and Stanols

Aside from fiber, including sterols and stanols to your diet could also benefit your cholesterol reduction efforts. What are sterols and stanols? These are chemical substances naturally present in plants that studies have shown to better your blood cholesterol levels. You may get them in small amounts simply by eating veggies, fruits and grains.

Sterols and stanols look similar to cholesterol. When inside the digestive tract, they may prevent real cholesterol from being absorbed into the bloodstream. As a result, cholesterol finds its way out of the body together with other body waste.

Nonetheless, if you are truly attempting to reduce your cholesterol you might like to consider food items that are enriched with these chemical substances. There are several margarine brands which are heart healthy and have these chemical substances. You may likewise find them included in certain brands of orange juice and cereals.

Go for Nuts

Consuming nuts also helps your cholesterol levels. Nuts have gotten a bad reputation for many years because they are rich in fat. However, the fat they have is actually beneficial to your heart. And so get a handful of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or pecans between meals to help strengthen your heart health. Preparing food using olive oil is another way to better your heart health. It has healthy fat that helps to cut back cholesterol.

Change to Low Cholesterol Diet

Besides including these healthy nutrients to your food plan, you must also be sure to eat a diet that is reduced in cholesterol. It is possible to get the amount of cholesterol on food items by looking at the nutrition label. Search for foods which are extremely low in cholesterol or perhaps cholesterol-free. For example, plant-based oils are generally cholesterol-free.

Get Moving

Exercise. Get Moving

This may not be directly about diet, but it can also improve your cholesterol levels – physical exercise. Exercise is one of the only established methods to increase your HDL cholesterol levels. This is the good cholesterol that helps in order to keep arteries free of plaque.

Thirty to sixty minutes of physical exercise each day will aid to improve your cholesterol. Through a couple of changes in your diet plan and exercise regimen, you can lower your cholesterol levels enough to keep you from needing to take prescription medication.