In the article Foods To Lower Cholesterol, I presented a general overview of foods that are heart healthy and help lower cholesterol.
Here, I carry on from the first part, Foods To Lower Cholesterol – A to K, to go into detail about some of the “superfoods” that have been shown to really help reduce cholesterol. Of course, they have many other health benefits besides, which I won’t go into here as my main aim is to help you with the information that will empower you to control your cholesterol levels and to create your low cholesterol diet plan.
It is best not to rely on just one of the foods that lower cholesterol but to keep to a varied and healthy diet plan. Mixing colors is a great guide: it will give you a variety of phyto-nutrients, the plant based nutrients that are so vital for our health. Your safest bet is to integrate these foods in the general guidelines outlined in Foods To Lower Cholesterol.
For your convenience, foods are listed in alphabetical order. The list carries on from Foods To Lower Cholesterol – A to K.
Legumes (beans and lentils) are completely cholesterol free; they are a great source of plant protein and can help reduce cholesterol. With the exception of peanuts and soya beans, they are also low in fat containing monounsaturated and essential polyunsaturated fatty acids.
While legumes can help reduce cholesterol in people with normal levels, they seem to have been most effective for people with elevated cholesterol levels.
Legumes contain plant compounds called phyto-sterols, the structure of which is similar to that of cholesterol. Because of this, they succeed in blocking absorption of cholesterol in the blood stream, particularly when used as replacement for meat based protein containing saturated fats.
In addition to phyto-sterols, the high content of soluble fibre also helps legumes to lower cholesterol levels.
Some types of beans such as black beans contain polyphenols. Polyphenols have antioxidant properties, as we have seen with grapes, and therefore contribute to protect LDL from becoming harmful through damage by free radicals.
Nuts are another superfood. They are rich in fiber, phyto-nutrients, antioxidants, and plant sterols. Nuts also have a high fat content, mainly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that help lower LDL levels.
Walnuts, almonds and other nuts and seeds like flax seed and sunflower seeds are also regarded as a source of Omega 3 fatty acids, which only increases their health benefits for cardio vascular conditions.
Because of the relatively high fat content of nuts, be moderate in your consumption. There is no point in reducing one problem (cholesterol) by creating another one (excess weight). Also, make sure to eat unsalted nuts.
You can increase the capacity of nuts to lower cholesterol naturally by integrating it into a “heart healthy” lifestyle (see Foods To Lower Cholesterol).
Oats are a fabulous source of fibre, especially soluble fibre that helps reduce LDL levels. Oats also contain antioxidants, avenanthramides, that protect LDL from damage by free radicals.
Numerous studies have shown that a bowl of oatmeal a day can help lower cholesterol levels between 8% and 23% and therefore contribute significantly to lowering the risk of cardio vascular disease and stroke.
You can increase the effectiveness of oatmeal by adding another antioxidant to your breakfast (or to whichever meal you have your oats): vitamin C. Simply eat an orange or have a glass of orange juice with your oats. If you use another cereal for breakfast, just add a spoonful of oat bran.
Olive oil is famous for its health giving properties. It is regarded as a “functional food,” that is, a food that provides health benefits beyond the traditional nutrients that it contains. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats, especially oleic acid. It has antioxidant properties and seems to displace Omega 6 fatty acids (we consume far too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3). In brief, olive oil combines most of the cholesterol lowering properties that we have encountered so far.
Studies in Italy and Greece have shown that removing saturated fat from your diet and replacing it by olive oil can reduce cholesterol levels by 18% and LDL levels by about 13% on average.
They have also shown that protection against high cholesterol increases the higher the levels of polyphenols in olive oil. This means that the better the oil the higher the level of protection.
The best quality olive oil with the highest concentration of nutrients and the best flavour is known as “extra virgin,” the product of the first cold pressing of olives. Ideally, that is the one you should go for. Try and avoid refined olive oil.
For good measure, studies have shown that diets that are rich in olive oil not only reduce LDL levels, they also help protect people with type 2 diabetes by lowering their insulin requirements and their glucose levels.
As usual, don’t exaggerate your olive oil consumption. Remember that with all its health benefits it is still an oil and therefore very rich in calories. Avoid more than 2 tablespoons of olive oil per day.
Pomegranates contain very high level of antioxidants - vitamins C and E, anthocyanins, polyphenols and tannins - higher than most other juices or red wine.
It comes, therefore, as no surprise that studies have shown pomegranate juice not just to help lower LDL and raise HDL levels but to be more effective than red wine or green tea.
Beyond protection of your arteries, they have also indicated that pomegranate juice is able to reverse existing build-up of plaque.
Given the difficulties involved in eating the actual fruit, I, for one, prefer pomegranate juice. If you don’t know what I mean, try eating one.
Health claims for soy have had a somewhat turbulent history.
Soy is high in polyunsaturated fat, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, and low in saturated fat. This has led to claims that soy can reduce cholesterol levels.
In the 1990s, the FDA allowed the claim that consumption of soy protein can help prevent heart disease.
Subsequently, studies have shown that the beneficial effects were not as high as originally found. In particular, they found that eating large amount of soy protein led only to a small reduction in LDL while leaving HDL and triglycerides unchanged.
The situation is currently still under review but the position of the American Heart Association is that eating soy is beneficial for your health since soy is a healthy replacement for protein containing high levels of saturated fat.
Tomatoes are a nutritional powerhouse. Lycopene, the main phyto-nutrient that research has focused on, is one of the most efficient fighters of free radicals.
Lycopene acts as an antioxidant and has been shown in a few studies to increase HDL. Its LDL and triglyceride lowering effects are still inconclusive although they have been shown to reduce levels of oxidised LDL, the harmful version of this type of cholesterol.
The good news is that cooking, crushing and processing tomatoes not only does not diminish their nutrient qualities, it actually increases the bioavailability of lycopene. This means that serving tomato sauce on pasta or pizza greatly facilitates the absorption of lycopene by the body.
Even better news: tomato ketchup contains high levels of lycopene (but don’t tell the children). The highest concentration was measured in organic ketchup.
Raw tomatoes are an excellent source of fibre, vitamin C and A, which contribute to lycopene’s cholesterol lowering properties, as well as potassium, folate, niacin and vitamin B6. As far as antioxidant properties are concerned, beware that vitamin C does not survive excessive heat.
Recent research has also shown that it is not only lycopene but the synergy of all the phyto-nutrients provided by whole tomatoes that generate their protective effect.
One of the challenges we all face when we start with a healthy diet plan, be it a low cholesterol diet plan or any other, is that we can only eat so much before we reach our limit.
For instance, it may not always be possible to obtain the necessary cholesterol lowering nutrient levels through our food. In these cases, we can resort to adding cholesterol supplements to support our low cholesterol diet plan and still reduce cholesterol naturally.
Cholesterol Supplements provide us with concentrated plant extracts. As we have seen, if taken correctly, some plant extracts can be as effective as prescription drugs. But never replace prescription drugs with cholesterol supplements without consulting a suitably qualified medical practitioner first.
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