Simple 7 Changes in Diet to reduce cholesterol
1. Adapt to a Low-Fat Diet
We all know eating some foods increase cholesterol, however did you know there are other kinds of foods that help lower it? Foods you should eat include: Fruits and vegetables, high-fiber items such as beans and peas, “Good fat” fish (i.e. salmon) whole grains, nuts and seeds, non-fat and low-fat dairy, lean meat and poultry without skin, unsaturated vegetable oils etc.
2. Cook Light
Don’t assume your grocery list is the bane of your cholesterol woes. Your cooking techniques also affect the food you eat too. Use a rack to drain fat when you broil, roast, or bake. Next, broil or grill instead of frying in the pan. Cut visible fat from meat before cooking, and remove skin from poultry pieces. If you’re roasting a whole chicken or turkey, remove the skin after cooking.
3. Make Healthy Replacement
Worried that you’ll have to skip your favorite snack now that you have cholesterol? You can easily offload cholesterol inducing ingredients and replace them with the healthy ones. E.g. prepare eggs with egg whites only and avoid the yolks. Use low-fat cottage cheese, part-skim milk mozzarella, and other fat-free or low-fat cheeses instead of regular cheese. And of course, use vegetable-oil instead of regular cooking oil including canola, corn, olive, safflower, and soybean oils.
4. Control Your Portions
Serve smaller portions of high-fat dishes and serve greater portions of low-fat dishes, such as rice, beans, and vegetables. Balancing your portions can greatly help you lower your cholesterol and lose weight at the same time.
5. Add Flaxseed
Flaxseed can help reduce total cholesterol and LDL (i.e. ‘bad’) cholesterol levels. Flaxseed oil also contains omega-3 fatty acids, but it doesn’t have the beneficial fiber that the seeds have. You can add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed to your hot or cold breakfast cereal, add a teaspoon of ground flaxseed to mayonnaise or mustard when making a sandwich, mix a tablespoon of ground flaxseed into an 8-ounce container of yogurt, or bake ground flaxseed into cookies, muffins, breads, and other baked goods
6. Stack-Up on Fiber
Fiber and fiber based foods help lower LDL (i.e. ‘bad’) cholesterol by reducing its absorption in the intestines. You can easily find soluble fiber in foods such as oats, barley, rye, beans, peas, apples, prunes, berries, fiber supplements etc.
7. Eat Plant Sterols
Plant sterols (or phytosterols), are odorless and tasteless substances. They are commonly found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and other plant sources. By adding them to fat-containing foods such as margarine spreads or yogurt, our bodies can utilize them to lower levels of LDL (i.e. ‘bad’) cholesterol. Do check the ingredients of your packaged food products to see if they contain acceptable levels of plant sterols.