Many people are working to reduce their cholesterol levels. High levels of cholesterol have long been associated with heart disease.
Lowering cholesterol can often be accomplished with a good diet, ensuring you eat plenty of low cholesterol foods and limiting high cholesterol foods.
Cholesterol is found only in animal based products, so ensuring your diet is high in plant based foods is a great way to lower cholesterol.
In addition, there are some foods that are not only low in cholesterol, but seem to help reduce your cholesterol more than other plant based foods.
A List of 10 Low Cholesterol Foods
1. Oats and Oat Bran
Eating a diet rich in oats is a great way to lower your cholesterol. Not only are oats low in cholesterol, but they can actually reduce the level of LDL (the bad cholesterol) in your blood because they contain soluble fiber.
Five to ten grams of soluble fiber per day is enough to reduce your cholesterol levels. One and a half cups of oatmeal contains about six grams.
2. Nuts
Walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds and pecans are all great choices for lowering your cholesterol. They are not only low in cholesterol, but, because they are high in polyunsaturated fats, they are heart healthy, too. They are high in calories, so don’t eat too many. A half cup a day will do the trick.
3. Fish
Fish are full of Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which help reduce your cholesterol. So, while fish, because they are animal based, do contain cholesterol, they are quite low in cholesterol and their Omega 3’s make them a great protein choice. Omega 3 Fatty Acids have been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease in several ways.
4. Olive Oil
This oil is naturally low in cholesterol because it is plant based. However, it has an extra added benefit because it appears to lower your LDL levels, but doesn’t lower your HDL (good cholesterol) levels. Using olive oil as your primary oil is a good choice, but remember that it, too, is high in calories.
5. Foods that contain added Plant Sterols
Many foods today come fortified with plant sterols, which can block the absorption of cholesterol. So, they are low in cholesterol but also have an added boost.
Consuming foods with plant sterols can lower your LDL by as much as 10 percent. Look for plant sterol fortification in orange juice, margarine and yogurt.
6. Kidney Beans
Kidney beans are also high in soluble fiber, like oatmeal and low in cholesterol.
7. Apples
Apples are one of the fruits highest in soluble fiber. So, they’re naturally low in cholesterol and help reduce the bad cholesterol in your bloodstream.
8. Barley
Though barley doesn’t rank quite as high as oatmeal when it comes to cholesterol lowering ability, it is a good grain to eat because it is high in soluble fiber.
9. Prunes
Prunes have long been known for being good for keeping the digestive system regular, but they are also very high in soluble fiber, so they’re good for lowering cholesterol numbers.
10. Pears
Pears are another high fiber fruit, so they’re a great addition to a low cholesterol diet.
Remember that only foods that come from animal products contain cholesterol. So, if you eat mostly plant based foods, you can have a diet that is low in cholesterol without a lot of fuss.
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