Managing “bad” cholesterol isn’t as simple as just stopping eating your morning eggs.
Although you might not be able to feel cholesterol building up in your blood vessels, this thick, waxy substance accumulates silently, and it can spell danger for your health. High cholesterol obstructs the flow of blood in your arteries, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Even type 2 diabetes and some forms of dementia have been shown to be linked with an excess of this waxy build-up.
Best Tip On Diet To Reduce Cholesterol
If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, you probably are thinking of how to bring your numbers down – possibly by changing your diet! So let’s see what does a cholesterol-lowering eating plan really look like?
In the past, the general medical advice given to lower blood cholesterol was to decrease cholesterol from foods as much as possible. But now the more up-to-date research has shown that just cutting out your morning eggs is not going to be of significant help, and there’s something more to lower your numbers.
As per the American Heart Association, the best way to control your cholesterol is to cut down your intake of trans & and saturated fats and instead focus on omega-3s and other unsaturated fats. Enhancing your soluble fiber intake also plays an important role in reducing cholesterol because fiber entraps fats in the bloodstream, obstructing some of them from being absorbed.
Useful Post: “Fiber & Cholesterol”
One Healthy Eating Habit To Manage Cholesterol
Whereas all these recommendations are helpful, what if there was one healthy eating habit that aided you in doing them all at once? Good news, there is one. Eating more whole, plant-based foods – like whole grains, nuts, legumes, vegetables, and fruits offers this excellent all-in-one effect. Foods in each of these categories have been shown to help in managing cholesterol. A large-scale study done in 2004 found that eating more fruit and vegetable was inversely related to bad cholesterol (aka LDL) in both men and women. In fact, plants such as oats, beans, barley, and tree nuts all have research studies supporting their key role in a cholesterol-lowering meal plan. And that’s not all; a 2020 review discovered that diet patterns high in plant foods, like the Mediterranean, DASH, Nordic, vegetarian, and vegan diets, all lowered LDL cholesterol. The secret is that not only are these diets lower in saturated fats and higher in unsaturated ones, but they are high in fiber also.
Do You Need To Eliminate Meat Entirely From Your Diet?
However, this doesn’t mean that you need to eliminate all animal products from your diet to lower your numbers. A few simple swaps of plant foods for animal ones could add up for fast results. Try including a favorite of your vegetable or fruit at each meal, begin your day with a bowl of oatmeal, or sprinkle toasted seeds or nuts on salads for extra crunch. Or a trick you can use is to follow the concept of a meatless Monday – that is being weekdays vegetarian.
Great Resource: How To Lower Cholesterol Without Drugs & Medication
Useful Tip: Focus on minimally processed, plant-based foods, and you’ll be likely to have low cholesterol & healthier blood pressure.
About Author: Renu Bakshi, AKA Fitness Buffhq, is ISSA Certified Elite Trainer. He 
passed Personal Fitness Trainer Course, Nutrition Health Coach course & Specialist Exercise Therapy course from ISSA, the USA, obtaining + 97% marks. He shares his experience and knowledge about nutrition and effective workouts to get you in the best shape of your life, no matter how old you may be. The author says: “For me, age is just a number!”
