Seven Superfoods That Are Good For Lowering Cholesterol
High cholesterol levels in your blood can affect the proper functioning of your cardiovascular system. Over time, if you don’t take the right steps to lower your cholesterol, you may develop heart problems, such as heart failure.
High levels of cholesterol in the blood can affect the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system. Over time, if you don’t take the right steps to lower your cholesterol, you may develop heart problems, such as heart failure.
The good news is that small changes in your diet and increased exercise can lower your cholesterol levels. Remember, a balanced diet can help you live longer and avoid high cholesterol and other problems, such as diabetes. Foods to eat to maintain optimal levels of good and bad cholesterol include the following
Oatmeal
Are you one of those people who includes a good bowl of oatmeal for breakfast? If not, know that oatmeal is one of the friendliest grains you can find. Its high fatty acid content prevents the intestines from absorbing linoleic acid and phytosterols.
This is a good thing because phytosterols contain moderate amounts of vitamin B, phosphorus, magnesium and a host of other elements. These three elements help lower bad cholesterol or LDL and control total cholesterol.
Linoleic acid, on the other hand, controls cholesterol, while strengthening the body’s defenses, improving the nervous and visual systems, and acting as a fat-reducing agent.
Walnuts
Maybe you avoid nuts because you think the natural fats they contain will raise your bad cholesterol levels. If this is the case with you, you should know that this is a misconception.
Nuts do contain fatty acids, but polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are exactly the kind of fats we should be eating. If you’re dealing with high cholesterol, you should know that the omega-3 fatty acids in nuts regulate LDL or bad cholesterol and triglycerides.
Just look at the number of nuts you consume. You should not exceed 10 per day. You can eat them alone, or in desserts, or with yogurt, fruit, or in salads.
Beans
A study published in the Journal of Nutrition showed that half a cup of cooked dried beans can lower cholesterol levels. It is important to note that changes such as increased physical activity were also implemented. In addition, the intake of high-fat foods was also reduced.
You may find it boring to eat half a cup of beans alone, but you can also mix them with some vegetables to make a salad. You can change or add new vegetables every day to avoid boredom.
Olive oil
It is one of the basic ingredients in any kitchen. Although there are other types of oils, even cheaper ones, try to include olive oil in your recipes to control your cholesterol. Ideally, you should eat extra virgin olive oil because it contains more oleic acid and no Tran fatty acids.
Also, remember to control your portion size because it is fat and therefore provides a lot of calories. A maximum of five teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil per day is recommended.
Add this oil to your salads when you prepare fried foods and cook meats. To avoid overdoing it, you can use a brush to spread the oil. This way you will use less and have better results.
Almonds
Are you one of those people who usually look for a good snack to give yourself a boost of energy after a workout? If so, you should consider adding some almonds to your diet instead of commercial energy bars. The reason for this is that almonds contain the same fatty acids as nuts, so they can also lower bad cholesterol. Our recommendation is to replace fatty foods with nuts instead of adding them to your daily diet. In this way, you will control your calories and benefit from this food.
Soybeans And Their Derivatives
Soy is rich in essential amino acids, omega 3, omega 6, minerals, vitamin B, fiber, isoflurane, and is cholesterol-free. For these reasons, it can help you not only lower your cholesterol levels but also help you control them.
If you have not yet adopted soy in your diet, remember that you have several options to choose your favorites.
Give this product a chance and you will soon discover how versatile, useful, inexpensive and easy it is to prepare.
Avocado
For years, it was thought that avocados were one of the causes of high bad cholesterol. But we now know that this was nothing but a myth, because not only does this fruit not increase bad cholesterol, it even controls it. Although avocado provides an average of about 225 calories, its unsaturated fat destroys bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol.
It is recommended that you limit your avocado intake to an average of half a piece or less per day. You can add it to your smoothies to make them creamier, or to your salads to make them more balanced. You can also spread it on your toast for energy when needed.
