One of the most common risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is elevated cholesterol. The next time you have your cholesterol checked, you will most likely learn several different numbers that relate to the levels of cholesterol in your body. Two of these numbers are your HDLs, or good cholesterol, and your LDLs, or bad cholesterol. HDLs help to clear excess cholesterol from the blood, while LDLs build up on the walls of the arteries and can contribute to CVD. Once you are aware of your cholesterol levels, in most cases it is possible to increase your HDLs and decrease your LDLs without taking cholesterol lowering medication. While drug therapy certainly has its place in the treatment of high cholesterol, there are many preventative measures that people can take, such as eating cholesterol lowering foods and increasing the amount of moderate intensity aerobic exercise.
What to Look for
Fortunately, many foods that are part of our daily diet have cholesterol lowering properties. Some of these foods include: nuts, berries, apples, oatmeal, oat bran, garlic, grapes, beans, fatty fish and soy. These items earned their superfood status because of the phytonutrients that they contain. The term phytonutrient simply refers to the disease preventing properties naturally found in these foods. For example, the phytonutrient that helps lower cholesterol in apples is called quercitin. More and more research is being conducted on thousands of compounds found in food that we eat on a daily basis. By adding these foods to our diet, we are lowering our risk of cardiovascular disease, without having to swallow a pill.
Common Pitfalls
While everyone should try to add superfoods, such as apples, nuts and berries, to their diet on a daily basis, consuming these foods does not negate foods high in saturated fat, such as French fries and ice cream. Further, some individuals are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and require medication, even though they may live a very healthy lifestyle. It is very important to have your cholesterol tested at least once a year and your doctor may recommend more frequent testing based upon other risk factors, such as family history. Finally, be wary of supplements that claim to have the same cholesterol lowering benefits as certain foods. Although the FDA has begun to regulate the supplement industry, many of these products lack the rigorous scientific testing that is required to back up their claims.
