List of Low Cholesterol Foods and Foods that Help Lower Cholesterol

A list of low cholesterol foods, including some natural supplements, shows how to lower cholesterol naturally.

Knowing a list of low cholesterol foods is the first step to a healthier heart and life. Food is a natural health supplement. Eating the right foods will help avoid high cholesterol and give other wellness benefits. Most of the foods to avoid high cholesterol are also considered to be among the 10 healthiest foods. A distinct bonus to foods low in cholesterol is that most, if not all of them, are loaded with antioxidant benefits. Add to your good diet your best multi-vitamin plus the heart-healthy benefits of drinking water and you've found the natural way to lower cholesterol.

Finding and eating foods that naturally lower cholesterol are not hard. The rule of thumb is eat as much unprocessed foods as possible, plenty of fruits and whole vegetables and replace red meats with heart-healthy fish. From breakfast to dinner and even your favorite late night snacks, you can choose, buy and enjoy foods to avoid high cholesterol. Here is a list of low cholesterol foods organized by their respective food groups.

Grains

Oatmeal and cholesterol are almost always linked together for good health. Science Daily gives the scientific facts between oatmeal and cholesterol lowering. Oatmeal may top the list of low cholesterol foods because it does not contain any cholesterol. Also, it is one of the best foods to help lower cholesterol due to its high soluble fiber content. Other similar whole grain foods low in cholesterol are whole grain pastas, whole grain breads (Make your own muffins, cookies and breads for the most nutrition!), barley and flax seed.

Fruit

Fruit is very good to help lower your cholesterol. The secret to this is fruit does not contain any cholesterol and it's naturally high in soluble fiber that helps lower and avoid high cholesterol. As a healthful bonus, many fruits are also high in antioxidants. Choose whole fruit over juice. Here is partial list: Apples, oranges, bananas, berries, dates, figs, melons, oranges, pears, and pomegranates.

Vegetables

All vegetables are very good in helping to lower cholesterol since they are high in soluble fiber. To avoid high cholesterol, introduce these vegetables into your diet: Avocados, beans of all types, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, kale, leeks,lettuce, olives, onions, peppers, potatoes, spinach sweet potatoes, soybeans, tomatoes, turnips, watercress.

Condiments and Spices

Garlic has been used for centuries to help the heart by possibly lowering cholesterol. Although recent studies seem to be inclusive as to if garlic really does lower cholesterol, the many health and medicinal benefits of garlic cannot be ignored. Traditionally, garlic has been one of the natural ways to lower cholesterol.

Olives and olive oil are both very good at reducing cholesterol. Simply switch your regular cooking oil to olive oil. When choosing olive oil, refuse the “light” version; all that “light” means is that it's heavily processed and “lighter” on flavor. Instead, get olive oil with the words “Extra Virgin” on the label. The 'extra virgin' olive oils are less processed and therefore contain more cholesterol-lowering, heart-healthy nutrients.

Meat

Eat low cholesterol meat. Some examples are fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, tuna, herring, trout, lean red meats and poultry. Many varieties of fatty fish are also foods high in Omega 3.

Snacks

Tree nuts— Pistachios, walnuts, almonds and Brazil nuts. Tree nuts are a wonderful and tasty way to help lower your cholesterol. They're packed with nutritious oils that have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels. In addition, here is more good news: Go ahead and add a bit of dark chocolate to your nut snack. Dark chocolate is not only on the list of low cholesterol foods but it is also one of the foods that lower blood pressure.

Which Foods Contain High Cholesterol?

• Lunch meats of all types
• Bacon
• Shrimp
• Oysters
• Foods with partially hydrolyzed oils
• Any foods with trans fats
• Organ meats such as heart and liver
• Most processed and refined sugar baked goods such as cakes, cookies, candies and so forth.

Supplements to Help Lower Cholesterol

You concentrate on eating the foods that help lower cholesterol. You've cut out the high cholesterol goodies and are trying to eat unprocessed fruits, vegetables, lean meat and fatty fish coupled with whole grains. You snack on unsalted tree nuts. All these are very good, however, you may be seeking even more powerful but natural measures to safeguard your health.

There are natural supplements that will help you lower your cholesterol. The heart-healthy benefits of krill oil supplements are definitely worth considering as are the health benefits of flaxseed oil. There are herbal supplements in the form of plant sterols that are very effective in helping lower cholesterol levels. The supplement Beta-Sitosterol (a plant sterol) may be nature's answer to cholesterol medications. If you are serious about lowering your cholesterol naturally, check out some Beta-Sitosterol information.

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