What To Eat To Lower Your Cholesterol

Mind is All

You are putting yourself at many health risks that you could easily avoid if you have high cholesterol. While we all know that high cholesterol can affect the heart and the body's circulatory system, many do not know that high cholesterol even causes an increased risk of Alzheimer's. As bodily and cognitive degeneration are both potential side effects of high cholesterol, it is important to know how to lower your cholesterol if it is high, and how to keep it at a good level if it is already there.

By paying attention to what you eat, you can easily and effectively lower your cholesterol. These four foods are all good for lowering your cholesterol.

1) High fiber foods such as oat bran and oatmeal: these foods lower bad cholesterol, because they contain soluble fiber. Other foods that have soluble fiber include bananas and pears. You can dramatically lower your cholesterol levels by getting five to ten grams of soluble fiber per day. You can find four grams of soluble fiber in just one banana; you can find six grams of soluble fiber in one bowl of oatmeal.

2) Omega-3 fatty acids: the place where you will most commonly find omega-3 fatty acids is in fish. Fish can reduce your blood pressure and lessen the risk of blood clots; for this reason, doctors generally recommend eating a minimum of two servings of fish per week.

3) Walnuts and almonds: These nuts, as well as some other nuts, can reduce the risk of heart disease, as long as you are not eating nuts that are coated in salt or sugar.

4) Olive oil: you can lower your bad cholesterol while leaving your good cholesterol untouched if you have two tablespoons of olive oil per day. Search specifically for extra virgin olive oil, as this is the least processed and is, therefore, the best for your body.

Even outside of changing your diet, you can do a lot of different things to lower your cholesterol and improve the overall health of your lifestyle. But learning the good foods to eat, as well as the foods that you should avoid, is a good starting point for lowering your cholesterol, and to lead a healthier lifestyle as a result.