Key List of Foods to Help Lower Cholesterol Fast
By Sandra Hoedemaker

There are many ways to lower cholesterol quickly and naturally
without resorting to medication including having a regular
exercise routine, reducing stress levels, and losing those last
10-15 pounds of stubborn belly fat, but the food you eat can
also make a drastic difference in your cholesterol levels for
better or for worse. Using natural approaches to lower
cholesterol can show results in just a few months time.

Below is my secret list of foods to help lower cholesterol
fast. Included in the following list are what I hope are a few
foods with which you may not be familiar. It is important to
experiment with new foods to keep the eating experience
interesting and varied. If you do, you will be less likely to
rely on unhealthy foods for your eating excitement, and you will
be more likely to obtain the proper nutrients in your diet.

Most people who incorporate the following foods into their diet
on a daily basis will see results particularly if they also
greatly reduce or eliminate sugar, flour, and trans fats which
are all ingredients that will affect cholesterol levels
negatively. Saturated fat doesn’t need to be eliminated from the
diet but don’t overindulge.

One thing that you will notice with regard to the following
foods is that all of them contain soluble fiber which has been
shown to help lower cholesterol levels significantly. Most
Americans eat way too few foods containing soluble fiber and
this is one of the key reasons so many Americans suffer from
high cholesterol.

So take a look at the following list and begin eating more of
these foods starting today.

Vegetables and Fruits: All kinds of vegetables and fruits can
help lower your cholesterol levels because of the soluble fiber
they contain. Two interesting vegetables with significant levels
of soluble fiber are artichoke and jicama (pronounced
HICK-ah-mah). Most of us have heard of artichoke but many of us
do not eat them regularly. Jicama is probably less known. This
is a root vegetable that also has a low glycemic index so it
won’t spike blood sugar levels quickly. It is somewhat similar
to a turnip and is turning up in health food stores more
regularly now. As for fruits, the kiwi is a good-tasting and
less commonly eaten choice to lower cholesterol.

Legumes: Replacing some meat protein with legumes is an
effective way to lower cholesterol. Legumes are low in fat, low
in calories, and high in soluble fiber. Lentils are one of my
favorite legumes because they require no pre-soaking, are very
quick to cook, and taste great. Most people are familiar with
green lentils but try the tiny red lentil variety too. They are
the quickest cooking variety of lentil and are a delightful
color. Lima beans are a less commonly eaten legume that you may
want to re-familiarize yourself with now that you are an adult.
Freshly cooked lima beans taste so much better than the mushy
frozen lima beans I ate as a child.

Cooked whole grains: Instead of eating whole grain cold cereal,
bread and pasta choose cooked whole grains. The whole grains in
most cold cereals, bread and pasta are pulverized which means
that the whole grain is not intact. Eating pulverized gains will
spike blood sugar levels when eaten. Foods that spike blood
sugar quickly can also raise triglycerides and total
cholesterol. Try incorporating steel cut oats into your diet
instead which are less processed than traditional rolled oats or
instant oats. Steel cut oats will break down into your body’s
blood sugar slowly compared to the more heavily processed
grains. Another good whole grain choice that is often overlooked
in terms of lowering cholesterol is barley. Cooked whole grains
not only spike blood sugar less than processed whole grains they
also contain cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber.

Nuts and seeds: Not only do nuts and seeds contain soluble
fiber, they are also a good source of mono-unsaturated fats.
Unlike saturated fats which raise the “bad” LDL cholesterol,
mono-unsaturated fats lower it. A tasty nut to try that has a
reasonable amount of soluble fiber is the Brazil nut. As for
seeds, the flax seed is a wonderful choice; however, don’t
forget to incorporate some less common seeds into the diet like
pumpkin and sunflower seeds. They contain soluble fiber too.

As you start incorporating the above foods into your diet on a
regular basis, be sure to make this change slowly. Going from a
low fiber to a high fiber diet too quickly can lead to
intestinal discomfort and flatulence. Eventually, your body will
adapt, and you will be able to digest high fiber foods with
ease.

About the Author: Sandra is a Heart-Healthy Food Coach. She
received her nutrition training from the Institute for
Integrative Nutrition in NYC. For a free audio with more
cholesterol-lowering tips visit
http://www.cutcholesterolnow.com.

Source: http://www.isnare.com

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