Patriot Health Digest
These simple tips could help you make long lasting changes to your health.
No one likes hearing those 4 dreaded words from their physician—you have high cholesterol. Receiving news like this is frustrating, especially if you do not know what to do or how to reduce your cholesterol levels.
Your physician will ultimately know the plan that’s best for your health going forward, but it can be useful to have at least some insight from a dietitian when you are trying to pick healthier food options for your next snack or meal.
That is why we discussed this with a few experts about their suggestions for the foods they think can help reduce your cholesterol levels, which can help you feel more prepared the next time you’re at the store.
Keep reading to learn more about these cholesterol-reducing tips, and for more healthy eating tips.
1 —Â Add strawberries to your diet.
If you are wanting to lower your cholesterol, strawberries might be a helpful add-in to your yogurt bowl, salad, or even just as a quick snack.
“Antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber in strawberries were shown to decrease total cholesterol levels and consuming at least 1.5 cups of strawberries each week is linked with a 34% lower risk of having a heart attack,” said Lauren Manaker, an employee of our medical expert board.
2 —Â Drink 100% orange juice.
Manaker also mentioned that if you trade your sugar-sweetened drinks in for 100% orange juice that it might help you with your health goals.
“Adults who drink orange juice usually have significantly less total and LDL “bad” cholesterol levels,” said Manaker. “Also, males seem to have a 23% lower chance of having low HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels, when compared to those who don’t drink OJ.”
3 —Â Swap out your cereal.
Dr. Nick Fuller, RD at the University of Sydney, suggests trading in your sugary breakfast cereals for oatmeal instead.
“Oats are a rich source of beta-glucan, a certain type of soluble fiber, that works in a similar way as a sponge does in the intestine to absorb cholesterol and help keep it from sticking to arteries in the body,” says Fuller. “Opt for either steel-cut oats, rolled oats or oat bran, which has a higher beta-glucan content.”
4 —Â Snack on walnuts.
According to Manaker, you might also want to start eating walnuts a little more.
“A new study released in Circulation recommends that people who consume about half a cup of walnuts every day for two years modestly reduce their LDL cholesterol levels,” said Manaker. “Specifically, the walnut-eaters reduced their LDL levels on average by 4.3 milligrams per deciliter.”
Author: Scott Dowdy
