Now the good news is that you can lower your cholesterol naturally – the first step is just to be more aware of what exactly you are putting into your mouth, and being aware of what it is doing to your body. (But if you are at high risk of heart disease, then change your diet straight away, if this is what your doctor is recommending.)
There are some foods that will set to work lowering your LDLs or Low Density Lipoproteins which are also known as the bad cholesterol. You need this number to be as low as possible for reduced risk of heart disease.
One of the best ways to start your day is with a bowl of oatmeal. About one and a half cups of oatmeal will provide your body with about 4 grams of fibre. This fibre is soluble, and helps to reduce the amount of cholesterol in your blood. There are reports that state that it takes about 5 to 10 grams of this type of fibre to start lowering your cholesterol by roughly 5%. As I said, this is a great way to start the day, as oatmeal or oat bran will lower the LDLs for you without lowering the HDLs, the High Density Lipoproteins, which is exactly what you want.
Now, legumes can also play a big part in your bid to lower your cholesterol naturally. Legumes are dried beans, peas and lentils, and because they are vegetables, they do not contain any cholesterol. What they do contain is plant protein which is good for keeping your muscles healthy as well as taking care of your hair, skin, bones, tendons and your internal organs too. When we think of protein, we tend to think of juicy steaks, or other animal products, but these all contain cholesterol themselves, as well as fat. This means that if we can replace a meal or two a week with legumes, we will still be eating protein, but will be getting it from a source that will be lowering our cholesterol naturally at the same time.
If you combine legumes with whole brown rice, you will be getting a cheap meal that is good for you. It is handy to have these dried foods on hand for making soups, or you can used the tins of beans or lentils, but these do need to be drained and rinsed thoroughly before use, so that it removes as much sodium as possible. Legumes do produce a lot of gas, but it is possible to remove up to 90% of the gas legumes produce with this method.
For those who can tolerate it, soy is another good source of protein, and it too can lower cholesterol, but not by as much as was once thought. The latest reports are saying that soy products can reduce LDLs by up to 3%, which might not seem like a lot, but every little helps. Soy products come from soybeans, so they contain fibre, vitamins and minerals, and low levels of saturated fat (the lower the better for this fat).
Fish is another great food to eat to help lower your cholesterol naturally. It is a good source of protein and has omega-3 fatty acids which research has shown increases the HDL cholesterol, whicle lowering the LDL level, and again this is exactly what you need. The Heart and Stroke Association is recommending a serving of fish two or three times a week as the minimum, with particular reference to sardines, herring, mackerel, salmon and trout.
Nuts are another good food to eat, and this is useful to have as a snack. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, some pine nuts, pistachios and pecans are rich in fibre as well as vitamin E and selenium. They are high in plant sterols and fat, but this kind of fat, mostly monounsaturated and plyunsaturated fats have been researched and show a reduction in LDL cholesterol the bad cholesterol. The only downside to snacking on nuts is that you shouldn’t consume very many each day, as they are high in calories, and will easily help you gain weight, which is probably not a good idea for most of the population. Try to keep the number of nuts you eat down to a handful, about one and a half ounces is good.
We mentioned fruits and vegetables earlier as good foods to eat.
apples and pears in particular contain soluble fibre which is very good for you. You will alos find this kind of fibre in chickpeas, as well as oatmeal, beans, peas and lentils as mentioned earlier in this article.
So, to conclude, eat fish regularly, use legumes and plenty of fruit and vegetables in your diet. Snack on a handful of nuts, and remember to start your day with a bowl of cholesterol lowering oatmeal. This diet will be healthy for you, and will help you to lower cholesterol naturally without having to take prescription medications, although if your doctor suggests this, you should follow your doctor’s orders of course.
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