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Foods That Help Lower Cholesterol

There are certain foods that when included in your diet help to lower cholesterol levels. Lack of cholesterol lowering foods in your diet can eventually lead to heart attack and stroke.

In addition to prolonging your life by reducing cholesterol, a correct diet to lower cholesterol can also save you from heart and blood vessel disease.

 

Soups Can Lower Cholesterol

Add cholesterol lowering food such as bouillons and consommes to your diet as they are nutritious, filling, and low in calories and fats. They are ideal for relieving that hungry feeling quickly and picking you up in the process.

It's important to note that many cholesterol experts recommend taking specific cholesterol lowering vitamins in combination with cholesterol lowering food for the best results in lowering cholesterol naturally.

Food to add to your diet to lower cholesterol such as soup, stimulates the digestive juices, starts the stomach and intestinal muscles churning and "warmed up" for the job ahead, while "flushing out" the stomach and getting it ready to stoke the digestive furnace.

For cholesterol lowering food like soups, try to use fat-free vegetable soups, vegetable broths, and soups prepared with skimmed milk.

 

Meats May Help Cholesterol Levels

Beef, veal, and lamb are naturally high in both visible and invisible fat and cholesterol. Since their protein content is most desirable for energy and palatability, they are basic cholesterol lowering foods.

For meat to be used as cholesterol lowering food this visible fat must be carefully cut away and trimmed while raw, before cooking. During the cooking, baking, or broiling of the meat, the fat should be drained off by keeping the meat or roast on racks. Meats must be lean when purchased to have the greatest benefit.

Remember that among meats, pork, bacon and ham are highest in fat and cholesterol content and therefore are not cholesterol lowering food. They should not be eaten while you are on a diet to lower cholesterol.

 

Low Fat Fish Reduce Cholesterol

Fish are often excellent low-fat food sources. Unlike meats, very little fats will be cooked out of the fish. Some fish are especially low in fat, these include perch, haddock, flounder, sturgeon, smelts, scallops. Others like brook trout, porgy, cod, and croakers are somewhat higher in fat content, but are still quite low in fat content when compared with meats.

Many canned fish when not packed in oil are very low in fat and are excellent choices as cholesterol lowering food.

Research has supported the cholesterol-lowering benefits of eating fatty fish because of its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids also help the heart in other ways such as reducing blood pressure and the risk of blood clots.

 

Proteins in Poultry Help Lower Cholesterol

Chicken and turkey are excellent sources of animal proteins for cholesterol lowering food, provided lean poultry is used. The dark meat of poultry is higher in fat content than white meat. Skin should be discarded. Duck and goose are extremely high in fat and should not be included as cholesterol lowering food.

The fat from chicken and turkey, even though much less quantitatively than that in meat, is best drained off and removed in the same manner as in the preparation and cooking of all meats.

 

Milk Products Lower Levels

One glass or more daily of non-fat or skim milk should be consumed to help lower cholesterol. As an added source of fat-free or low-fat protein, skim or fat-free milk can be fortified by adding to each glass of milk one or more tablespoon of dried, skim milk.

This fortified milk also has a thick creamy taste and can be flavored to taste with various flavoring agents. Yogurt made from non-fat milk can also be used for nutritious variety.

 

Vegetables

Vegetables are virtually fat free and contain no cholesterol. To prepare vegetables without butter or fat means that a little originality is required by the cook, such as by the use of herbs or seasoning.

Since many of the vital vitamins and minerals in vegetables may be destroyed by cooking, the ideal use of raw vegetables is the most desirable for any menu, and especially for cholesterol lowering food.  The addition of herbs before serving the vegetables adds further to the natural flavor.

 

Fruits

Fruits also contain virtually no fat and are entirely free of any cholesterol. Two notable exceptions, however, are the avocado and the coconut, which are both very high in fat content and thus should be avoided.

Otherwise there is no restriction on the use of fruits, which are also certainly ideal for desserts.

 

Oatmeal and Oat Bran

Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad cholesterol. Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, apples, pears, psyllium, barley and prunes.

Soluble fiber appears to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines. Ten grams or more of soluble fiber a day decreases your total and LDL cholesterol. Eating 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal provides 6 grams of fiber. If you add fruit, such as bananas, you'll add about 4 more grams of fiber. To mix it up a little, try steel-cut oatmeal or cold cereal made with oatmeal or oat bran.

 

Certain Nuts Reduce Cholesterol

Studies have shown that walnuts can significantly reduce blood cholesterol. Rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, walnuts also help keep blood vessels healthy and elastic. Almonds appear to have a similar effect, resulting in a marked improvement within just four weeks.

All nuts are high in calories, so a handful no more than 2 ounces or 57 grams, will do. As with any food, eating too much can cause weight gain, and being overweight places you at higher risk of heart disease. To avoid gaining weight, replace foods high in saturated fat with nuts. For example, instead of using cheese, meat or croutons in your salad, add a handful of walnuts or almonds.

 

Olive oil

Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants that can lower your LDL cholesterol but leave your HDL cholesterol untouched. The Food and Drug Administration recommends using about 2 tablespoons or 23 grams of olive oil a day to get its heart-healthy benefits.

To add olive oil to your diet, you can sauté vegetables in it, add it to a marinade, or mix it with vinegar as a salad dressing. You can also use olive oil as a substitute for butter when basting meat.

 

Natural Supplements for Lowering Cholesterol - Resterol

Resterol can be used to compliment your existing treatment program, regardless of the medication you are currently prescribed. With its synergistic blend of nutrients, Progressive Health's Resterol can address factors in Your diet that influence total cholesterol levels.

Even though we cannot address hereditary factors influencing your cholesterol, this advanced formula may provide a secondary support to the many healthy changes you've started making in your life. You've addressed your need to lower your total cholesterol; you now owe it to yourself to supplement your diet with a nutritional tool that is guaranteed, effective, and safe.

A few ingredients in Resterol are:

  • Vitamin E - A potent antioxidant, vitamin E has been studied and used for years to improve cardiovascular health. Vitamin E supplementation also appears to reverse levels of certain molecules (VCAM-1 and nitric oxide) in the blood that contribute to atherosclerosis in people with high cholesterol.
  • Pantethine - The effect of supplementation on cardiovascular health with this B vitamin has been known for many years. It appears the positive effects of pantethine in lowering lipids are related to its effect on insulin.
  • Garlic (Allium sativa) - This botanical medicine, often referred to as the panacea of herbs, is very useful in cardiovascular disease. Certain compounds in garlic have demonstrated the ability to reduce oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which contributes to atherosclerosis.
  • Gum Guggul Extract (Commiphora mukul) - Classically used in Ayurvedic medicine to lower cholesterol, gum guggul has received much interest in the Western world. Research supports the use of guggul to lower high levels of lipids.

For a complete list of ingredients Click Here.

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