How to Reduce Cholesterol Without Medicines
Eat garlic., Chomp on nuts and seeds., Go fish., Load up on fiber., Use healthy vegetable oils., Munch on raw fruits and veggies.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Eat garlic.
Garlic is an excellent substance to add to your diet to keep your cholesterol levels at a reasonable number.
It can reduce cholesterol levels without causing any side effects, in addition to preventing blood clots, reducing blood pressure, and protecting against infections.Although it is best to take it in raw form, it is equally efficacious in other forms like pickles.
Next time you hit the supermarket, pick up a tub of freshly peeled garlic cloves, and challenge yourself to make sure it's gone before the "best by" date.
Chop up and toss on pizza, in soups, or on side dishes. -
Step 2: Chomp on nuts and seeds.
Though they're all great, sunflower seeds are particularly efficacious in keeping the cholesterol levels down.
They're full of linoleic acid that reduces plaque formation, keeping your blood flowing down arterial easy street.
Walnuts, almonds, and other nuts are good, too; it's not just the sunflower variety.
They're generally all full of polyunsaturated fatty acids
-- that's the good kind.
As long as the nuts aren't coated in salt or sugar, you're good to go.
Aim for a handful (1.5 oz; 43 g) a day., Eating fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring is ultra heart-healthy to due their high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
Those guys can lower your blood pressure and prevent your blood from clotting.
If you've already had a heart attack, they can even reduce the risk of sudden death.If you're not quite a chef de cuisine, canned tuna isn't exempt from the omega-3 category.
And to go even further, you could always take fish oil supplements
-- once you've talked to your doctor, of course.
The American Heart Association says the natural source, the fish itself, is better, but something is better than nothing.
Alternative sources also include soybeans, canola, flaxseeds, walnuts, and their oils, for our herbivore friends., Not only are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains great for your waistline, but they're wonderfully full of heart-healthy antioxidants and cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber.
There are different kinds of fiber, actually, and these three food groups are chock full of the soluble kind
-- the kind that sits in your digestive tract and absorbs the cholesterol before it gets to your arteries.
Talk about useful.It's practically a super-food, oatmeal is.
And when it comes to cholesterol, it's full of the soluble fiber that lowers your LDL cholesterol.
Aim for 5 to 10 grams (or more!) of fiber a day to reap the cholesterol-lowering effects.
If you're curious, 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal ranks in at 6 grams of fiber.
Not an oatmeal fan? Kidney beans, apples, pears, and prunes are also high-fiber foods., Always use oils in your food that are full of good fats, such as olive oil, sunflower oil, or walnut.
Cutting down on your saturated and trans fats is imperative to lowering your cholesterol.
Olive oil is particularly masterful in lowering your LDL levels while not lowering your HDL levels (that's a very good thing).
Replace other fats in your diet (butter, shortening, etc.) with olive oil to reap the benefits.
Try it with sauteed vegetables, as a salad dressing, or on bread.
Delicious, delicious, delicious.
If you do make the leap, know that extra-virgin olive oil is even better than the plain ol' regular kind.
It's generally less processed and therefore has more nutrients and anti-oxidants.
And when you see an olive oil that's light in color, know that that does not mean light in calories or fat
-- it just means more processed., Raw vegetables are always a better source of fiber and antioxidants than cooked ones.
When they're raw, they maintain all their vitamins and nutrients
-- all the stuff that's good for you.
The good stuff gets cooked away when heated.
Turn your main dishes into vegetarian ones
-- casseroles, lasagnas, soups and stir-fries are all easy to make sans meat.
And as for fruit, try to keep it fresh
-- dried fruit often has more calories.
If you do have a penchant for the dried kind, however, keep it to a handful.Spinach is a great source of lutein, which has recently been found to help shrug off cholesterol invaders.
Shoot for 1/2 cup (100 g) a day to reap the benefits.What's more, fruits and veggies are low calorie and low fat.
Cutting back on saturated fats (which can also be done by consuming soy products) helps your heart and reduces LDL cholesterol. -
Step 3: Go fish.
-
Step 4: Load up on fiber.
-
Step 5: Use healthy vegetable oils.
-
Step 6: Munch on raw fruits and veggies.
Detailed Guide
Garlic is an excellent substance to add to your diet to keep your cholesterol levels at a reasonable number.
It can reduce cholesterol levels without causing any side effects, in addition to preventing blood clots, reducing blood pressure, and protecting against infections.Although it is best to take it in raw form, it is equally efficacious in other forms like pickles.
Next time you hit the supermarket, pick up a tub of freshly peeled garlic cloves, and challenge yourself to make sure it's gone before the "best by" date.
Chop up and toss on pizza, in soups, or on side dishes.
Though they're all great, sunflower seeds are particularly efficacious in keeping the cholesterol levels down.
They're full of linoleic acid that reduces plaque formation, keeping your blood flowing down arterial easy street.
Walnuts, almonds, and other nuts are good, too; it's not just the sunflower variety.
They're generally all full of polyunsaturated fatty acids
-- that's the good kind.
As long as the nuts aren't coated in salt or sugar, you're good to go.
Aim for a handful (1.5 oz; 43 g) a day., Eating fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring is ultra heart-healthy to due their high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
Those guys can lower your blood pressure and prevent your blood from clotting.
If you've already had a heart attack, they can even reduce the risk of sudden death.If you're not quite a chef de cuisine, canned tuna isn't exempt from the omega-3 category.
And to go even further, you could always take fish oil supplements
-- once you've talked to your doctor, of course.
The American Heart Association says the natural source, the fish itself, is better, but something is better than nothing.
Alternative sources also include soybeans, canola, flaxseeds, walnuts, and their oils, for our herbivore friends., Not only are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains great for your waistline, but they're wonderfully full of heart-healthy antioxidants and cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber.
There are different kinds of fiber, actually, and these three food groups are chock full of the soluble kind
-- the kind that sits in your digestive tract and absorbs the cholesterol before it gets to your arteries.
Talk about useful.It's practically a super-food, oatmeal is.
And when it comes to cholesterol, it's full of the soluble fiber that lowers your LDL cholesterol.
Aim for 5 to 10 grams (or more!) of fiber a day to reap the cholesterol-lowering effects.
If you're curious, 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal ranks in at 6 grams of fiber.
Not an oatmeal fan? Kidney beans, apples, pears, and prunes are also high-fiber foods., Always use oils in your food that are full of good fats, such as olive oil, sunflower oil, or walnut.
Cutting down on your saturated and trans fats is imperative to lowering your cholesterol.
Olive oil is particularly masterful in lowering your LDL levels while not lowering your HDL levels (that's a very good thing).
Replace other fats in your diet (butter, shortening, etc.) with olive oil to reap the benefits.
Try it with sauteed vegetables, as a salad dressing, or on bread.
Delicious, delicious, delicious.
If you do make the leap, know that extra-virgin olive oil is even better than the plain ol' regular kind.
It's generally less processed and therefore has more nutrients and anti-oxidants.
And when you see an olive oil that's light in color, know that that does not mean light in calories or fat
-- it just means more processed., Raw vegetables are always a better source of fiber and antioxidants than cooked ones.
When they're raw, they maintain all their vitamins and nutrients
-- all the stuff that's good for you.
The good stuff gets cooked away when heated.
Turn your main dishes into vegetarian ones
-- casseroles, lasagnas, soups and stir-fries are all easy to make sans meat.
And as for fruit, try to keep it fresh
-- dried fruit often has more calories.
If you do have a penchant for the dried kind, however, keep it to a handful.Spinach is a great source of lutein, which has recently been found to help shrug off cholesterol invaders.
Shoot for 1/2 cup (100 g) a day to reap the benefits.What's more, fruits and veggies are low calorie and low fat.
Cutting back on saturated fats (which can also be done by consuming soy products) helps your heart and reduces LDL cholesterol.
About the Author
Janice Hayes
Brings years of experience writing about crafts and related subjects.
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