Lowering Cholesterol through Food Choices
There is an all-too-true adage that goes, “You are what you eat.” True enough, your health actually depends on the kind of food that you take in. If you can’t get rid of or even lessen your intake of food rich in saturated fat, you are potentially subjecting yourself to heart disease and other ailments. If you’re serious about lowering your cholesterol and your risk for such diseases, you need to make healthy food choices.
Diet plays an essential role in lowering cholesterol levels in the body. Dietary cholesterol and saturated fats must be reduced in order to keep normal cholesterol levels. Consider this alarming fact: Nearly all fast food restaurants have been swept into the “saturated fat mania.” According to statistics, a typical American consumes three hamburgers and four orders of French fries every week and that half of the country’s family food budgets are taken up by restaurants composed mostly of fast food chains.
Yet, there are actually a lot of healthy foods that do not contain high cholesterol levels. Specifically, choose those that contain unsaturated fats, which are mostly found in plants. However, there are also some vegetable fats that need to be avoided such as palm oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter since they act like saturated fats.
When cooking, use olive oil, soybean oil, or canola oil, as they contain high levels of unsaturated fats. Consume foods that can lower cholesterol — fish, tofu, soybeans, walnuts, almonds, and alfalfa. High-fiber food, like oatmeal, broccoli, bran, kidney beans, citrus fruits, apples, and peas, also help reduce cholesterol so choose.
Refrain from eating food with high sodium content and regulate your intake of sugar and alcohol. Other foods to be avoided or limited are ice cream, butter, cheese, whole milk, egg yolks, and high-fat processed meat products.
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