FOODS THAT LOWER CHOLESTEROL

By Ruvimbo Jeche

A person’s risk of heart disease and stroke rises as blood cholesterol levels increase. The good news is, you can make lifestyle changes to lower your cholesterol by eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, losing weight if you need to and exercising 30 – 40 minutes on most days of the week. By lowering your blood cholesterol level, you’ll cut your risk for heart disease and stroke. A diet to lower your cholesterol includes foods from the chart below that are low in total fat, saturated fat, transfat, and cholesterol.

FOOD GROUPRECOMMENDATIONSEXAMPLE FOOD
GRAINSHalf of the grains should be whole  Whole grain breads and cereals, including oats and barley Pasta, especially whole wheat Brown rice  
VEGETABLESEat more dark green vegetables   Eat more orange vegetables   Eat more dry beans and peas like pinto beans  kidney beans and lentils  Broccoli spinach   Carrots Sweet potatoes  
FRUITSEat a variety of fruits from fresh, through frozen to dried   
MILKOpt for low-fat or fat-free when you choose milk, yoghurts or other milk products     If you cannot consume milk, choose lactose free products or other sources of calcium  low-fat, or 1% fat milk or buttermilk Nonfat or low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese Fat-free and low-fat cheese
MEAT AND BEANSChoose low fat or lean meats and poultry.     Bake it, broil it or grill it           Vary your protein routine;      Lean cuts of beef and pork (loin, legs) Skinless poultry   Fish Wild game Dried beans and peas Nuts and nut butters   Choose more fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds Egg whites or egg substitute
FATS AND OILSPartially hydrogenated oils   Tropical oils       omega-3 fats     unsaturated oilscoconut, palm, and palm kernel oils   Butter Stick margarine Shortening   salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines.     olive, peanut, soy, sunflower, canola    
\

#GoodHealtStartsWithGoodNutrition

#vaMudhumeni

#HelpingFarmersGrow

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *