How to Avoid LDL

You are constantly surrounded by foods that contain refined sugars, saturated fats and corn syrups. The result of eating such foods is an increase in low density lipoproteins, called LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is considered "bad cholesterol" and can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes when it becomes too high. You can avoid an increase in your LDL cholesterol by changing your eating patterns and the types of foods you eat.

Instructions

• 1

  Educate yourself on how to read food labels correctly to avoid or lower LDL cholesterol. Cholesterol-free food means less than 2 mg of cholesterol and 2 g or less of fat, but it does not mean zero cholesterol. Low cholesterol food has 20 mg or less of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat.

• 2

  Avoid foods that contain trans-fatty acids. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that trans fats increase your LDL cholesterol while lowering your high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or HDL. HDL is good cholesterol that collects bad cholesterol from the bloodstream and transfers it to the liver for disposal. Trans fats are found in foods such as fast food, frozen foods, packaged foods, ramen noodles and soup cups, dairy foods, cookies and cake.

• 3

  Eliminate saturated fats from your diet. The American Heart Association recommends limiting these fats which can be found in whole-milk dairy products, fatty meats, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and egg yolks. These fats boost total cholesterol by elevating harmful LDL.

• 4

  Add HDL foods to your diet that contain beneficial fats. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, or good fats, are healthy for the heart and most other parts of the body. These fats can help lower your LDL cholesterol and increase your HDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats come from olive oil, canola oil and sesame oil. Polyunsaturated fats contain omega 3 and linoleic fatty acid which lower cholesterol levels. Fish is a good source of polyunsaturated fats.