Lowering Cholesterol with Diet

Trying to lower your cholesterol levels? Here are suggestions of what to eat and avoid.

Naturally produced by the body, cholesterol is a fat-like substance that your body needs to function properly. However, if you have too much cholesterol in your blood it can stick to the walls of your arteries. This buildup of cholesterol can cause arteries to narrow or even be fully blocked, leading to coronary artery disease, heart attack, or even stroke.

“Making dietary changes can help to lower your cholesterol level,” says William Wang DO, an internal medicine doctor at PIH Health Whittwood medical office building in Whittier. “For some people changes to diet may not be enough to get cholesterol levels into a healthy range. Medication may help in these cases. Your doctor can help you to make a plan on how to lower or maintain healthy cholesterol levels.”

Low Cholesterol Diet

Eating a variety of healthy foods while limiting saturated and trans fat, added sugars, refined oils, and processed foods is the best way to lower cholesterol through diet. Not only is this kind of diet good for your heart, but your overall health. Some people think you also need to reduce the amount of dietary cholesterol you eat, which can be found in foods such as egg yolks and shrimp. However dietary cholesterol has not been shown to influence blood cholesterol levels.

Foods to Eat to Lower Cholesterol

Eating an overall heart-healthy diet can help lower cholesterol levels. This type of diet includes eating plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables, as well as eating minimally processed foods from a variety of food groups, such as whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, lean proteins, and healthy oils.

You may also want to increase the amount of soluble fiber, plant sterols, and omega-3 fatty acids you eat:

• Soluble fiber: Found in plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes, soluble fiber helps to slow digestion and helps prevent the digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol. Good sources of soluble fiber include oats, beans, lentils, apples, oranges and bananas.
• Plant sterols: Found in whole grains, legumes, nuts and olive oil, plant sterols also help prevent the absorption of cholesterol.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Found in fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines, as well as in some plant-based foods, such as flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts.

Foods to Limit or Avoid

If you are trying to lower your cholesterol levels through diet, it is important to limit eating processed, baked, and fried foods. Often filled with saturated and trans fat, added sugar, and refined oils, these foods may not only increase cholesterol levels but are bad for your overall health. Below are some examples of foods to limit or avoid:

• Baked goods: Cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pies, and other pastries, etc.
• Fried foods: Chicken nuggets, French fries, onion rings, etc.
• Processed foods: Candy, chips, crackers, ice cream, soda, boxed mac n’ cheese, frozen pizza, etc.

If you are trying to lower your cholesterol, you may also want to limit eating foods high in saturated fat. For some people eating some of these foods in combination with a plant-based or whole-food diet may be okay. Talk with your doctors before making any dietary changes. Below are examples of foods high in saturated fat that you may want to limit:

• Dairy: Butter, cream, whole-milk, cheese, and yogurt made with whole milk
• Meat: Fatty cuts of beef, lamb, pork, and poultry (with skin), bacon, sausage, burgers, hot dogs, and deli meat
• Oils: Tropical oils such as coconut and palm oil, lard, ghee, and margarine

“In addition, to maintaining a heart-healthy diet focused primarily on whole foods and limiting processed foods, other ways to naturally reduce cholesterol levels include getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough quality sleep, not smoking and reducing stress,” says Dr. Wang. “These habits can help you to live healthier overall.”