Easy Ways To Lower Your Cholesterol By Changing Your Diet

 

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If you have high cholesterol, you are putting yourself at a number of health risks that could be easily avoided. While we all know that high cholesterol can affect the heart and the body's circulatory system, many do not know that high cholesterol even causes an increased risk of Alzheimer's. You can avoid the cognitive and bodily degeneration that can result from high cholesterol if you learn to lower your cholesterol, or - if your cholesterol is already at a good level - to keep your cholesterol where it is.

One of the easiest and most effective ways you can lower your cholesterol is by paying attention to what you eat. These four foods are all good for lowering your cholesterol.

1) High fiber foods such as oat bran and oatmeal: you can lower your cholesterol by eating these foods, because these food have soluble fiber in them. Other foods that have soluble fiber include bananas and pears. You can dramatically lower your cholesterol levels by getting five to ten grams of soluble fiber per day. One bowl of oatmeal contains six grams of soluble fiber; one banana contains four grams of soluble fiber.

2) Omega-3 fatty acids: the place where you will most commonly find omega-3 fatty acids is in fish. Fish can reduce your blood pressure and lessen the risk of blood clots; for this reason, doctors generally recommend eating a minimum of two servings of fish per week.

3) Walnuts and almonds: These nuts, as well as some other nuts, can reduce the risk of heart disease, as long as you are not eating nuts that are coated in salt or sugar.

4) Olive oil: by taking two tablespoons of olive oil per day, you can leave your good cholesterol untouched while lowering your bad cholesterol. Because it is the least processed of all available options, extra virgin olive oil is the best.

Even outside of changing your diet, you can do a lot of different things to lower your cholesterol and improve the overall health of your lifestyle. But learning the good foods to eat, as well as the foods that you should avoid, is a good starting point for lowering your cholesterol, and to lead a healthier lifestyle as a result.