How to Lower Your Cholesterol with Food (Not with Drugs)

Lisa Franchi May 21, 2014

High cholesterol levels have a direct impact on your risk of heart attack and stroke. This is why managing it is very much important. Maybe your doctor said you should take statins to lower your cholesterol. But apart from taking medications,there are natural ways to lower your bad cholesterol levels. They include choosing the right food to eat.

Whilst taking statins could greatly help, doctors say the best way to protect your heart is to make healthy lifestyle changes. If your diet could increase your cholesterol levels, it could lower them too. Here are some diet tips and tricks to keep your cholesterol in check.

Eat a bowl of oatmeal every day.

Oatmeal is high in soluble fibre, which reduces the amount of cholesterol put into your bloodstream. Experts recommend you consume 5 - 10 grams of soluble fibre each day. Just a bowl of oatmeal has about 6 grams of this cholesterol-lowering nutrient. You can get the remaining four from eating fruits and vegetables.

Get fishy at least twice a week.

The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fatty fish per week. Fatty fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, known to improve heart health. Fish that contain the most omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, halibut, herring, lake trout, sardines, mackerel, and Albacore tuna.

Eat food fortified with sterols and stanols.

Sterols and stanols prevent the body from absorbing cholesterol from the food you eat. The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide says consuming 2 grams of plant sterols each day can reduce your unhealthy cholesterol levels by as much as 10 per cent. Food scientists extract sterols and stanols from plants then add them to foods, including margarine, granola bars, fruit juices and even chocolate.

Use olive oil.

Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants that lower bad cholesterol levels. Try to replace two tablespoons of butter, lard or mayonnaise with olive oil each day. But remember that olive oil is high in calories so go easy on the amount.

Go nuts.

A handful of nuts each day can keep the cardiologist away! Walnuts, almonds and some other nuts are also rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids that keep blood vessels healthy and your cholesterol levels in check.

Avoid foods that have double-cholesterol punch.

Dietary cholesterol can elevate your blood cholesterol levels, but saturated fat has an even worse effect. However, the two are often found in the same foods, such as meat, butter and full-fat dairy. So by limiting your intake of foods rich in saturated fat, you’ll also help reduce your intake of cholesterol.