Diet To Lower Bad Cholesterol
You’re probably wondering how diet can be used to lower bad cholesterol levels. The answer is simple: cholesterol is made in the human body and is therefore not an important dietary requirement. That is why when found excessively in our regular diet, it becomes a problem, especially when the levels of bad cholesterol are higher than those of good cholesterol.
How bad is bad cholesterol?
Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past 10 years, you’ve probably heard of bad cholesterol. As featured in many books, magazines, diet commercials and TV shows, bad cholesterol has been implicated as the leading cause of many heart-related illnesses.
However, not all cholesterols are bad. There are certain types of cholesterols that actually help the body perform some of its most basic functions. These cholesterols include HDL or high-density lipoprotein, unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) and Omega-3 fatty acids. What you should stay away from are LDL or low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, saturated fats and hydrogenated fats.
How to choose a diet that will lower bad cholesterol
The best way to make sure bad cholesterol does not enter your system is to start with your diet. Limit your intake of saturated fat, ideally to just 5% or under of your caloric intake daily. That’s an average of 10g of saturated fat a day. To give you an idea, a tablespoon of butter contains about 7g of saturated fat, 5g more than margarine.
Use low-fat or non-fat milk and milk products including cheese and yogurt. They are great substitutes for other dairy products that contain bad cholesterol. Skim milk, for example, is a better choice than whole milk while low-fat yogurt is better than regular whipped cream.
The basis of your diet
You cannot live on low-fat crackers and water hoping to lower your bad cholesterol within days. It may be an effective diet plan but you will be missing out on essential nutrients necessary to keep you healthy.
Instead, base your meals on fiber found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Whole-grain breads, pastries, oatmeal and oat bran provide the right bulk to help you get rid of unnecessary fats and lower your bad cholesterol levels. They also help you lose weight. You can also keep bad cholesterol levels down by eating regular servings of fruits and vegetables. As little as 1 to 2g servings of fiber-rich foods daily can help lower your bad cholesterol by at least 1%.
Keep animal fat intake low
Good sources of animal protein include fish, chicken, turkey and lean cuts of red meat. These foods can be included in your diet and help lower your bad cholesterol, provided that you keep to the recommended serving amount. However, you can substitute the animal protein found in your diet using soy protein found in soy and soy products. As little as 25g of soy protein has been shown to lower bad cholesterol when used as part of your diet.
When cookies go bad
Another type of bad cholesterol you need to monitor in your diet is hydrogenated fat, often found in common foods as trans-fat. Trans-fat are known to disrupt metabolism and are toxic to the body. These include foods such as cookies, pastries, crackers and almost all processed foods. Also unsafe are foods that include white flour, MSG (monosodiumglutamate), aspartame and sodium nitrate, often found in food as additives.
Trust the superfoods
Yes, your diet can benefit from superfoods that help lower bad cholesterol levels. Some of these include soy milk, tofu, bean sprouts, barley and wheat grass. There are also ingredients such as spirulina and chlorella that many health buffs and nutritionists trust.