How to Eat Foods that Lower Cholesterol

Learn how to eat foods that lower cholesterol before it's too late.

Are you a heart attack waiting to happen?

Or maybe you just want to be proactive about eating healthier.

Either way it's a good idea to think about the foods you eat and how it affects your cholesterol levels.

The good news is there are a lot of options available when it comes to foods you can eat to lower your cholesterol.

It's extremely important that you try to eat healthy especially as you age. Over time cholesterol will start to cause plaque build up in your arteries which can lead to a heart attack.

If you are younger and want to avoid having to take cholesterol lowering drugs in the future or maybe you're already at that point, now is the time to make some changes to your diet.

The following are tips on how to eat foods that lower cholesterol:

Instructions

• 1

  Garlic is an excellent addition to your diet to lower cholesterol. Who doesn't love garlic? Some of you might not, so for those that don't go buy some Kyolic garlic pills. For the rest of you try to use more garlic when cooking. Garlic has certain compounds that help to control the production of cholesterol in your liver.

• 2

  Whole Grains or Oats: A study revealed that people who have diets rich in whole grains and oats have thinner carotid artery walls (less plaque) and they also had a slower rate of thickening in their artery walls.

  An easy way to find foods that contain whole grains and oats is to look for the heart healthy seal on the packaging. Typically what that means is that the ingredients in the food help lower cholesterol.

• 3

  Flax seed oil: Mmm flax seed oil, sounds delicious. Ok, it's not something you will typically cook with or put in food but you can buy flax seed oil in pill form pretty much anywhere that sells vitamins.

  Flax seed oil has been shown to aid in lowering cholesterol and possibly aid in lowering blood pressure. You can actually find some products that use flax seed as an ingredient, although it's on the rare side. Just look for products that contain flax seed oil or also commonly known as omega 3 fatty acids.

• 4

  Fish and Fish Oils: Fish should be a staple food in your diet if you want to eat foods that lower cholesterol. A study done by Norwegian University of Science and Technology revealed that patients with type 2 diabetes ate fish and took fish oil for nine weeks saw a steep decline in cholesterol levels.

  Fish and fish oils are high in omega 3 fatty acids just like flax seed oil. If you don't like fish then supplement your diet with omega 3 fatty acid supplements.

• 5

  Beans and Legumes: The key ingredient in beans and legumes is fiber. Fiber has a very positive effect on your body and if you really want to eat foods that lower cholesterol this is a great source of fiber. Try to make it a habit of adding this to your list of foods to eat to lower cholesterol.

• 6

  Yogurt: Yogurts have live cultures called probiotics that helps to lower your cholesterol level. Probiotics like Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Lactobacillus Reuteri are crucial in lowering cholesterol levels and helps to prevent the re-absorption of the cholesterol into the blood.

  Stay away from the high sugar, high fat yogurts though. If the unsweetened yogurt doesn't work for you then add honey to sweeten it or make a shake with fresh fruit.

• 7

  Make sure to consult your doctor before attempting to do this on your own. Your cholesterol levels may already be at a point where medical intervention is necessary. The key thing is to try and eat a balanced diet with all types of foods that lower cholesterol.

  Remember this, if you want to eat foods that lower cholesterol you need to make lifestyle changes. Adding these foods to your diet will only help if you cut out all of the other junk that you probably are already eating.

  While you're here take a moment to check out my other articles by going to my profile and don't forget to look around eHow for more information on lowering your cholesterol.