9 Healthy Cholesterol-Lowering Foods

If you are like many who have been diagnosed with high cholesterol*, you'd like to control the condition with diet before turning to medications. This is a wise approach. There are, in fact, quite a few foods that can help in this regard. Here is a list of some of them, and some suggestions of how to prepare them.

1. Oat bran - While it's not a magic bullet and has been the subject of a lot of hype, oat bran is a high-fiber food that helps lower cholesterol. Oat bran is not only high in fiber, but it also contains beta-glucans which are the keys to its cholesterol-lowering ability. Add it to cereals and homemade breads and muffins.

Barley (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2. Barley - Another high-fiber food, barley is rich in beta-glucans as well. In fact, it has as much as three times the amount of beta-glucan as oat bran. Barley is great in soups and stews, and can also be cooked as a breakfast cereal.

3. Beans - Once again, the combination of high fiber and beta-glucans comes together, this time in the humble bean. Beans also contain lecithin, which is a cholesterol-lowering nutrient. Great in chili, stews, soups, and Mexican dishes.

4. Garlic and onion - It seems there are few conditions that garlic can't help. In Europe, garlic is "officially" approved as a treatment for high cholesterol. A clove of garlic a day is said to lower cholesterol by as much as 15 percent. Half an onion a day has a similar effect. Add it to just about anything for a flavor and health kick!

5. Sesame seeds - These tasty little seeds are not the only foods with phytosterols - all plant foods have phytosterols to some degree - but they are unusually high in these compounds. Phytosterols are absorbed into the blood, pushing cholesterol out of the way, so to speak. These can be added to baked goods, homemade crackers, and Asian dishes.

6. Lettuce - Also fairly high in phytosterols, leafy green lettuce is a good food for lowering cholesterol.

Avocados (Photo credit: barron)

7. Avocado - Ironically, the high-fat avocado has been shown to help lower cholesterol. It is especially effective when combined with olive oil in the diet.

8. Carrots - Carrots are high in pectin, which is a source of fiber that is implicated in lowering cholesterol. Eat a carrot or two a day.

9. Apples -Apples are also high in pectin. An apple a day...as they say!

As you consider how to incorporate these foods into your diet, here are some suggestions.

Try a bean and barley soup flavored with lots of onion and garlic. Make oat bran muffins for breakfast, and incorporate oat bran into homemade breads. Sesame seeds can also be added to baked goods, and tahini, a sesame seed paste, is a good way to get a lot of this seed into your diet. Try a salad with lettuce, carrots,  and avocado with an olive oil-based dressing.


* Note: These are good, healthy, whole foods, and eating them is a good thing. However, remember that high cholesterol is a symptom, not a disease! Cholesterol is produced by the body in an attempt to heal damage caused by inflammation, so if you have high cholesterol, something is wrong in your body, and you need to take steps to address the underlying issue - not just lower your cholesterol. Consult a doctor who is well-versed in natural health, and won't just prescribe a drug in order to mask the symptoms, but who will take the time to find out what is causing the high cholesterol issue, and help you take appropriate steps to help your body heal.

Fiber - A Supernutrient

We all know we’re supposed to eat a diet rich in fiber.  Despite this basic knowledge, many people are confused by what fiber is and how to get it.  And because a large percentage of the nation has or is cutting back on carbohydrates, they’re also cutting back on fiber.  As fiber helps rid the body of toxins, among other important functions, this is definitely a health concern.

Wheat bran - high in fiber. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What Is Fiber?

Dietary fiber is essentially a non-digestible carbohydrate; your body cannot break it down and digest it.  Dietary fiber is divided into two main categories: soluble or insoluble. 

Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water and therefore moves through the bowel without any type of breakdown.  Due to this, it promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk.  The result is regular stools and a constant removal of build-up in the intestines. 

Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid, while insoluble fiber does not. Insoluble fiber passes through our intestines largely intact.  It helps lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels, and also carries toxins out of your body.

So how much soluble and insoluble fiber should you be taking?

Despite the fact that the average American's daily intake of fiber is about 5 to 14 grams per day, adult women should consume 25 grams of fiber a day and men should consume 38 grams a day.

Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts and many vegetables are good sources of insoluble fiber, while oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium are a good source of soluble fiber.

Great Sources of Fiber and How to Get Enough

Beans. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In order to make sure you’re getting enough fiber, it’s important to understand what foods to get it from.  Great sources of fiber include:

* Green leafy vegetables
* Whole grains
* Seeds & Nuts
* Dried beans and peas
* Fruits
* Vegetables
* Psyllium husk

¼ cup of almonds, for example, contains 2.4 grams of fiber and a medium apple contains 4 grams.  So one small snack of almonds and an apple contains about 1/4 of a woman’s daily fiber requirements.  To get a meal that packs a real fiber punch, add beans.  A cup of baked beans contains 16 grams of fiber; that’s more than half of your daily requirement!  And whole grains like buckwheat, bran, bulgur and oats contain a significant amount of fiber.  Leafy greens are good too; a cup of cooked spinach has 7 grams of fiber. 

To make sure you’re consuming your daily fiber requirement, make sure you have at least one serving of whole grains, beans and healthy snacks like raw fruits and veggies and nuts.  (All of these whole foods also have many other healthy nutrients in them as well.) A little fiber with each snack and meal should be enough to keep your body running optimally, reduce your toxic load, and stay healthy.