Cholesterol Diet: The Foods You Should Be Eating Now

by Beth Hoover

What steps should you take to lower cholesterols naturally? People who consume too much instant food and fast food are inclined to accumulating too much cholesterol in their bodies. At higher levels, cholesterol is viewed as a risk factor in various heart diseases, especially atherosclerosis.

Cholesterol is a lipid naturally manufactured in the body. It can also be obtained from fatty foods, such as milk, butter, margarine, red meat etc. When too much cholesterol goes into your body, it tends to line up your arteries. If left alone, it will eventually clog them.

To discredit a common misconception, you can have excess amounts of cholesterol in your body even if you do not look it. Even if you have the metabolism to eat as much as you want and not grow fat, if your cholesterol levels are in excess of what your body needs, you are still unhealthy and at risk.

So what foods do you include for a low cholesterol diet? You should be mostly looking for fiber. Soluble fiber absorbs cholesterol and will ensure that it goes out of your body. You can obtain fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, such as whole grain bread or oats. You can also take a supplement, like psyllium husk.

You can also increase your intake of unsaturated fatty acids. They lower the amount of low density lipoprotein cholesterol in the body. You can find unsaturated fatty acids from various fish, walnuts, canola oil and flaxseed. You can get them from flaxseed as well, in all its different forms.

Another common food supplement that has recently come in vogue are phytosterols. These are phytochemicals detected in particular plants that have the same structure as cholesterol. Phytosterols supersede cholesterols and are absorbed by the body first. In this way, they lower cholesterol intake.

The amount of phytosterols in plants are too small to have any real effect in your body. You can get phytosterols for a lowered cholesterol diet from supplements and certain man made foods. Get medical assistance to learn which foods have useful phytosterols levels and how to effectively use phytosterols in lowering cholesterol.

What should you do to lower cholesterols naturally? Cholesterol is a lipid naturally created in the body, which can also be obtained from fatty foods. When too much cholesterol enters your body, it tends to fill up your arteries. If left alone, it will eventually clog them. The foods you consume for a low cholesterol diet should have soluble fiber, unsaturated fatty acids and phytosterols.

Published April 14th, 2010

Filed in Fitness, Food, Health