Cholesterol and what you eat

A new research study has recently been released showing that certain foods that we eat can lower LDL cholesterol more so than the foods we don’t eat. To lower cholesterol, most previous recommendations were to eat fewer foods that have cholesterol, eat less fat and saturated fat, and to take statin drugs when prescribed by a physician.

LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein and is known as the “bad” cholesterol because of the link to heart disease. In a blood cholesterol panel, the LDL number should be below 100 mg/dL.

In this study, the participants with high or borderline high cholesterol levels that ate these four foods benefitted from lower LDL cholesterol levels by 14%. Those four foods were nuts, soy products, fibers (including oats and barley) and plant oils or sterols (such as those added to products).

Soy products include tofu, soy burgers and other soy meat products, soybeans, edamame, and soy milk. Meat and milk products can be substituted with various soy products. Make sure you read the nutrition labels on soy products to make sure you are not getting any extra sodium, sugar, or fat.

Nuts include tree nuts such as walnuts, almonds, peanuts or others. A handful a day is the recommendation for nuts.

Fiber, or sticky fiber, includes oats, barley, and psyllium. Psyllium is the fiber found in over-the-counter fiber supplements (such as Metamucil). Trade your breakfast cereal for one that has oats or read the labels to find one that has more fiber. Add more oats or psyllium products to desserts or other recipes for a fiber boost. Add both nuts and oats to a dessert for a double dose of cholesterol benefits.

Plant oils and sterols are added to many foods. Participants in this research study replaced butter and margarine with margarine that had plant sterols added. There are other foods that have plant sterols added to them, read the nutrition labels to see. Plant sterols are found naturally in some foods in small amounts, but not usually enough to make an impact. They help prevent cholesterol from being absorbed into the bloodstream. The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends 2-3 grams of plant sterols daily and the American Heart Association recommends 2 grams daily to help reduce LDL cholesterol. If you want to replace your butter and margarine with one that has plant sterols, try for one that has at least 1 gram of plant sterols per tablespoon.

One suggestion to eat more plant-based foods is to try one meal at a time or slowly make changes in your eating plan. It doesn’t have to be an overhaul in one day or one week. Slow changes are more successful.

Keep in mind that eating these foods is not a substitute for medications prescribed by a physician. Talk to your physician if you have any questions or concerns about your medication.

Further research is needed to look more into this concept, but the study does show that our eating habits have an effect on heart-health.

September is National Cholesterol Education Month, so this is a good time to get a blood cholesterol panel done and to read more about cholesterol and your health.