Cholesterol tall it is no longer just a problem for parents, even at a young age a person can suffer from cholesterol. Eating a healthy diet can help you reduce the level of cholesterol in your blood.
Eating lots of unhealthy foods, such as fast food, can increase cholesterol levels. If cholesterol is lodged in our bodies, it can cause several diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. If you already suffer from high cholesterol, then you should maintain your diet by eating healthy foods, to avoid dangerous complications.
Healthy Food for Cholesterol Sufferers
In order to lower cholesterol levels in the blood, you need healthy foods that can lower cholesterol. The following are good foods for you to consume:
- Barley and oatsEating more of these two types of food can bind cholesterol in the intestine and prevent it from being absorbed by the body. This happens because both of these foods contain a fiber called beta glucan. Consumption of about 3 grams of foods rich in beta glucan in a day is believed to reduce cholesterol in the body. In addition to these two foods, kidney beans also contain soluble fiber. You can make porridge oats as breakfast and mix it with fruit like bananas to add fiber content in your diet.
- Fruits and vegetablesEating fruits and vegetables can lower high cholesterol. This is because fruits and vegetables are low in saturated fat. If you eat more of it, you will feel fuller, reducing the chances of consuming foods with saturated fat. Consumption of foods rich in fiber such as broccoli, apples, pears, sweet potatoes, strawberries, bitter melon, and eggplant can lower cholesterol.
- NutsThe benefits of nuts can reduce cholesterol in the blood because they contain protein, vitamin E, unsaturated fat, magnesium, fiber, and potassium. You can lower your cholesterol by as much as 5% if you eat about 1-2 ounces of nuts a day.
- Brown riceCompared to white rice, brown rice has more nutrients and is rich in fiber. The fiber content in brown rice can help lower cholesterol.
- Foods that contain soybeansFoods such as unsweetened soy pudding, soy milk, edamame beans and tofu contain protein that can reduce blood cholesterol. Consuming as much as 0.5 ounces a day can reduce your cholesterol by at least 6%.
- Fish and omega 3 fatty acidsFish such as salmon, tuna, tuna, and sardines contain omega 3 fatty acids which are good for lowering blood pressure. Omega 3 does not affect blood levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), but can reduce the risk of blood clots forming. Consume at least two to three times a week. Omega 3 can also reduce the chance of sudden death from heart disease and reduce triglyceride levels in the blood.
- AavocadoOne of the benefits of avocado is that it is rich in unsaturated fats. Try to eat avocados in fruit form, not in the form of juice that has been mixed with sugar and milk. People with high cholesterol need to limit their intake of saturated fat. The limit for saturated fat intake for women is 20 grams, while the limit for men is 30 grams.
- Food that enriched with unsaturated fatKeeping your daily saturated fat intake below 20g (women) and 30g (men) is essential for lowering cholesterol. You can replace it with unsaturated fat. Such as olive oil, sunflower, corn, vegetable oil, nuts and other seeds. But you should avoid palm oil and coconut oil because these types of vegetable oils are high in saturated fat.
Each of the foods described above provides its own benefits, but lifestyle changes can also help in lowering high cholesterol. In addition to changing the diet, lowering high cholesterol can be accompanied by exercising regularly, maintaining an ideal body weight, and quitting smoking.
If you have been eating healthy foods along with other healthy lifestyles, but your cholesterol is still high, you should consult a doctor to lower it.