Foods that Lower Bad Cholesterol
| September 29, 2011 | Posted by Alex under Lifestyle |
Canadian pharmaceuticals giant Valeant has just received regulatory approval for a new cholesterol-lowering drug. The drug offers an aggressive new possibility for patients to greatly reduce their cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that people will have a carte-blanche to eat all the cholesterol heavy foods they want on a daily basis.
Eating well is one of the keys to good health, and here are 4 foods that can naturally lower your “bad” cholesterol levels.
Fish
Many fatty fish are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which offer a wide range of benefits such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of blood clots.
Smoking and grilling the fish helps prevent adding oils and grease that come with frying.
Other foods have small amounts of Omega 3 as well, such as eggs, brussel sprouts and canola oil.
Oatmeal
The soluble fiber in oatmeal and other high fiber grains and beans lowers the density of cholesterol in your system.
Oatmeal on its own can be very boring, so try adding in a small amount of brown sugar and cinammon along with sliced fruits or berries and a glass of milk on the side.
If oatmeal isn’t your thing, try a thick barley stew or a kidney bean dish to gain a similar benefit.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is one of the better cooking oils out there. Rich in antioxidants, this oil can lower bad cholesterol but leave good cholesterol levels in your system constant.
Try adding olive oil to your recipes instead of vegetable oil or butter. Adding a teaspoon to a pasta sauce gives it a nice flavour, or mix it with balsamic vinegar and mustard and a few sesame seeds to get a delicious salad dressing.
To get the most out of the antioxidants in these oils, opt for extra virgin, which also has the most flavour.
Garlic
While garlic is hardly edible on its own, unless you’ve managed to build up quite the tolerance, added in recipes it can make quite the difference. Apart from being considered a cure all by more than one ancient civilization, traditional medicine book and the like, it’s loaded with antioxidants.
If you do a lot of cooking at home, trying throwing in a minced clove or two early in the cooking process with a little bit of olive oil such as in a pasta sauce, a vegetable stir fry or a chili dish. Add more if you reall like the flavour (like me!)
Recent Comments