Lower Your Cholesterol With Foods

We’ve all been told to keep our bad cholesterol down. LDL is bad cholesterol which forms plague that make your arteries hard and narrow. HDL is good cholesterol removes excess LDL in your blood and brings it to your liver for disposal. The more HDL you consume, the less LDL you’ll have in your blood. But how could you know what kind of foods can help increase your good cholesterol? Most people are afraid that eating protein rich foods will boost the amount of bad cholesterol level. However, not all protein rich foods are high in LDL but actually foods contain high amount of saturated fat are really risky for your health. Below are recommended foods that lower your cholesterol level, specifically LDL cholesterol.

Red wine

Scientists believe that wines have lower alcohol content such as red wine contain resveratrol, an antioxidant that is linked to prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing in your arteries. In addition, antioxidants in red wine help boost the body’s resistance. However, American Heart Association recommends that two glasses of red wine for men and one glass for women a day could be helpful enough.

Fish and fish oil

Eating fish can be heart-healthy because of its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce your blood pressure. This essential fatty acid has been shown to increase levels of HDL cholesterol while lowering levels of LDL cholesterol. With people who have already suffered from heart attacks, fish oil – or omega-3 fatty acids – can help reduce the risk of sudden death. Doctors recommend eating at least two servings of fish a week, and with those with type 2 diabetes should consume high doses of fish oil to lower the size and concentration of several lipoprotein subclasses (cholesterol) in their bodies.

Popcorn

Popcorn is considered low in saturated fat and high of fiber, good for health. Also, popcorn is a food rich in energy.

Walnuts

According to some scientific researches, walnuts contain many healthy ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols which work to reverse the arterial damage caused by saturated fats. These substances help increase HDL cholesterol and significantly decrease LDL cholesterol levels.

Vinegar and lemon juice

Vinegar or lemon juice is an indispensable spice in making salads. A recent study has shown that vinegar made from fruit may help increase HDL cholesterol. Also, vinegar is also effective in reducing blood sugar and accelerating the fat burning process.

Margarine

A teaspoon of butter contains 7gram saturated fat – more than 1/3 our needs, which will increase the bad cholesterol level in our bodies. To avoid this risk, you should use margarine as alternatives such as olive oil and other vegetable oils. Consuming 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil per day has been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol levels in the blood significantly.

Seafood

Seafood such as salmon, oysters, crabs… are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which are very good for health especially those with heart disease and high blood pressure. Also, the seafood is almost no saturated fat.

Nonfat yogurt

This is one of the best foods for our health because they virtually have no saturated fats and are best source of probiotics. Several studies have shown that the probiotics Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Lactobacillus Reuteri actually help lower cholesterol by working to prevent the absorption of cholesterol back into the blood stream.

Related Topics:

• lemon juice and lower ldl cholesterol