Best Cholesterol Lowering Foods

Best Cholesterol Lowering Foods

Soy
Reducing saturated fat is the single most important dietary change you can make to cut blood cholesterol. Used as a replacement for meat and cheese, soy foods help your heart by slashing the amount of saturated fat that you eat.

Why is saturated fat so bad for your heart? The liver uses saturated fat to make cholesterol, so eating foods with too much saturated fat can increase cholesterol levels, especially low-density lipoproteins (LDL)—the bad cholesterol. Saturated fats are usually found in animal products such as whole milk, cream, butter, and cheese, and meats, such as beef, lamb and pork. There are some plant-based saturated fats you should avoid too, notably palm kernel oil, coconut oil, and vegetable shortening.

Beyond replacing saturated fat, research suggests that compounds in soy foods called isoflavones may also work to reduce LDL cholesterol.

How to get some: Not familiar with soy foods? The basics include tofu, soy nuts, soy flour, and enriched soymilk. Great-tasting, protein-rich meat alternatives include soy sausage, and breaded cutlets and nuggets that taste like chicken. Crumbled soy—an alternative to ground meat—works well in chili, burritos, lasagna, soups, and casseroles. Add tofu to chili, eggs, or casseroles. It absorbs the flavor of whatever you're cooking. You'll find many soy products in the produce section of the supermarket.

What about soy supplements? Research shows that isoflavone supplements alone don't work. To lower cholesterol, you need the whole soybean with its unique protein, phytates, and isoflavones, which may all act together.

Eat this much: The FDA recommends getting at least 25 grams of soy protein each day. Consuming 25 grams of soy protein daily lowers high cholesterol.

Beans
Except for your morning wheat bran, no food is more fiber-rich than beans. And beans are especially high in cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber. Eating a cup of any type of beans a day—particularly kidney, navy, pinto, black, chickpea, or butter beans—can lower cholesterol by as much as 10% in 6 weeks.

Soluble fiber forms a gel in water that helps bind acids and cholesterol in the intestinal tract, preventing their re-absorption into the body. This may be why soluble fiber helps to lower cholesterol levels (and decreases the risk of heart disease). Soluble fiber is also found in oats and oat bran, barley, brown rice, beans, apples, carrots, and most other fruits and vegetables.

How to get some: Keep your cupboards stocked with canned beans of all kinds: black, white, kidney, fat-free refried, etc. (as well as instant bean soups). You'll always have the makings of a delicious, healthful dinner on hand. Beans add protein and fiber to any dish and can be used in salads, stuffed baked potatoes, veggie chili, or pureed for sandwich spreads. And since they come in cans, beans are handy to use. But remember to rinse canned beans first—they're packed in a high-sodium liquid.

Eat this much: Eat beans five or more times a week. For the greatest health benefits, both the FDA and the National Cancer Institute recommend that adults get 25 to 30 g of fiber each day.

Nuts
All nuts are rich in vegetable protein, fibre, heart healthy unsaturated fats, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, natural plant sterols and a host of beneficial plant nutrients.  30-35g a day of nuts (a handful) has the potential to lower cholesterol by an average of 5%.

Oats and Barley
Both oats and barley are rich in a form of soluble fibre called beta glucan.  Once eaten beta glucan forms a gel which helps bind cholesterol in the intestines and prevent it from being absorbed.   It is recommended that we eat about 3g of beta glucan per day.  Foods which contain 1g or more of beta glucan can carry a cholesterol lowering claim. 

Fatty fish
Eating fish two or three times a week can lower LDL in two ways: by replacing meat, which has LDL-boosting saturated fats, and by delivering LDL-lowering omega-3 fats. Omega-3s reduce triglycerides in the bloodstream and also protect the heart by helping prevent the onset of abnormal heart rhythms.

Almonds
Several studes report that eating up to half a cup of almonds can reduce cholesterol levels by up to 10%. In a dose response study it was found that a quarter cup of almonds reduces cholesterol by 5% and half a cup causes the full 10% reduction.11 As almonds are a high calorie food, it is not recommended that you eat more than half a cup. Almonds are great as a snack, or as an addition to breakfast cereals like oatmeal. 

Green Tea
Green tea has long been a staple in East Asia where it is believed to wash oil (fat) out of the body. Studies suggest this may be true as green tea can lower cholesterol by 2-5%.26 Green tea without sugar also has few calories (typically less than 10) and can make a great substitute for a variety of beverages.

Dark Chocolate and Plant Sterols
The plant sterols and cocoa flavanols in dark non-milk chocolate have been shown to reduce cholesterol by 2-5%. Further, plant sterols (phytosterols), found in all plants, and particularly plant oils like corn oil and soybean oil have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol by up to 16%.25 However, this reduction is largley due to inhibiting absorption of cholesterol, and would not have a large effect if you consumed little or no cholesterol.