These foods can help to lower your cholesterol in your blood naturally!
1. Oat bran – While it’s not a magic bullet and has been subject to a lot of hype, oat bran is a high-fiber food that helps lower cholesterol. Oat bran is not only high in fiber, but it also contains beta-glucans which are the keys to its cholesterol-lowering ability.
2. Barley – Another high-fiber food, barley is rich in beta-glucans as well. In fact, it has as much as three times the amount of beta-glucan as oat bran.
3. Beans – Once again, the combination of high fiber and beta-glucans comes together, this time in the humble bean. Beans also have lecithin, which is a cholesterol-lowering nutrient.
4. Garlic and onion – It seems there are few conditions that garlic can’t help. In Europe, garlic is “officially” approved as a treatment for high cholesterol. A clove of garlic a day is said to lower cholesterol by as much as 15 percent. Half an onion a day has a similar effect.
5. Sesame seeds – These tasty little seeds are not the only foods with phytosterols – all plant foods have phytosterols to some degree – but they are unusually high in these compounds. Phytosterols are absorbed into the blood, pushing cholesterol out of the way, so to speak.
6. Lettuce – Also fairly high in phytosterols, leafy green lettuce is a good food for lowering cholesterol.
7. Avocado – Ironically, the high-fat avocado has been shown to help lower cholesterol. It is especially effective when combined with olive oil in the diet.
8. Carrots – Carrots are high in pectin, which is a source of fiber that is implicated in lowering cholesterol. Eat a carrot or two a day.
9. Apples -Apples are also high in pectin. An apple a day…
As you consider how to incorporate these foods into your diet, here are some suggestions.
Try a bean and barley soup flavored with lots of onion and garlic. Make oat bran muffins for breakfast, and incorporate oat bran into homemade breads. Sesame seeds can also be added to baked goods, and tahini, a sesame seed paste, is a good way to get a lot of this seed into your diet. Try a salad with lettuce and avocado with an olive oil-based dressing.
We hope that this list of foods that help to reduce cholesterol in blood helps you eat and be healthier!
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