There are a lot of factors which contribute to the development of heart disease or stroke. Gender or genes play a critical role, yet for most of us, we are what we eat. However, the good news is that just some small changes to your daily diet could help you lower your cholesterol level, thereby lowering your risk of stroke or heart disease. Check out these 11 best tips on how to lower your cholesterol naturally with diet to start making a great change for your overall health from now!
- Eat Meat Sparingly
It is good for you to relegate meat to a minor part of your current diet rather than making it the main dish of most meals. If you want to eat meat, then you should trim off fat and skin from different kinds of meats and poultry. Yet, you should avoid fatty cuts of pork, beef, and lamb and opt for lean meats, or substitute skinless white-meat poultry or fish. As dinning out, if possible, you should choose meatless pasta or a smaller portion of meat.
- Cut Down The Saturated Fat When Cooking
You should use liquid cooking oils instead of margarine or butter. Also, opt for nonstick pans. Rather than frying food, it is better for you to bake, broil, roast, steam, or stew it.
- Choose Low-Fat Dairy Products
Dairy foods which consist of cream or whole milk might increase your cholesterol levels. Thus, you should avoid them; instead, opt for non-fat or low-fat versions.
- Oats And Barley
These types of whole grains are considered as the best source of soluble fiber that blocks your own body’s ability to absorb cholesterol. Also, they are your best friends when it comes to nutrition tips to lower your cholesterol. The type of fiber that barley and oats include is called beta glucan and very powerful. Therefore, you should eat oats with at least 3 grams of soluble fiber each day. That way, you will be able to lower LDL and total cholesterol by about 5-10 percent.
- Increase Fiber Or Complex Carbohydrates
Add more those foods which contain a large amount of carbohydrates, such as vegetables and fruits, legumes, and whole-grain products. These foods are also high in fiber and low in calories which are healthy for your cholesterol level. Besides, you had better eat more water-soluble fiber like that found in fruits and oat bran as this kind of fiber could drastically reduce the blood cholesterol level as eaten in conjunction with the low-fat diet.
- Drink Alcohol In Moderation
It is not necessary for you to give up entirely alcohol in your diet. Regular or moderate drinking could decrease the risk of heart disease naturally. However, heavy drinking might negate these benefits. Thus, when it comes to tips to lower your cholesterol, moderation is the key.
- Green Teas
According to recent studies, green tea can significantly not only reduce stress for drinkers but also reduce LDL cholesterol levels. To get the best result from green tea, people should sip 1-2 8-ounce cups of green tea every day. Also, remember that most green tea includes caffeine, so you should not overdo it, particularly too close to your bedtime. In other words, when it comes to how to lose weight naturally, green tea is a a great choice for both men and women.
- Oils
Unlike butter as well as other solid fats which might raise cholesterol level, unsaturated fats found in oils can lower it. The polyunsaturated fats which are found in safflower, corn, sesame, sunflower oil, and soybean may slash the bad cholesterol – LDL. On the other hand, the monounsaturated fats in avocado, canola and olive, oil not only help you lower LDL cholesterol but also raise HDL naturally.
- Red Wine
Many scientists recommend drinking red wine in moderation due to its benefits to the human health, in general, and the heart, in particular. It is worth noting that, the high-fiber Tempranillo red grapes, which are used to make the red wine such as Rioja, might really have a critical effect on your cholesterol levels.
10. Fatty Fish And Salmon
Omega-3 fats are considered as one of the natural health wonders of the global. Also, it has been shown that omega-3 fats can ward off dementia, heart disease, and other diseases. Yet, now you could add another benefit of fatty fish to your health – lowering cholesterol levels. As mentioned before, people should replace saturated fats with the omega-3s such as those found in sardines, salmon, and herring. As a result, they will increase good cholesterol – HDL as much as 4%.
11. Chocolate
Chocolate is a friend of a heart-healthy diet. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate or bittersweet kind chocolate can build HDL cholesterol levels. Dark chocolate, in compared with milk chocolate, has more a larger amount of antioxidants, helping prevent blood platelets from negatively sticking together and might keep arteries unclogged.
The 11 tips to lower cholesterol levels with diet above are really simple yet effective for everyone to take control of their heart health. From now, you should apply several or even all of them to your daily diet in order to get a balanced cholesterol levels naturally.
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