To lower your cholesterol, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends shifting your diet away from high-fat, high-cholesterol dairy and meats and replacing them with low-fat grains and fruits and vegetables which are naturally fat-free. In addition, replace unhealthy fats with healthy fats and eat a couple of specific foods which help lower cholesterol.
Grains, Fruits and Vegetables
Grains such as breads, cereals and pasta have little fat and no cholesterol, except some bakery breads and sweet bread products, which can be made with eggs and butter, both of which are high in cholesterol. So, the more calories you get from grains the more likely you are to get the nutrients you need without the fat that raises cholesterol levels. Fruits and vegetables have plenty of essential nutrients and are fat- and cholesterol-free, so they should be your first choices for a proper diet to reduce cholesterol.
Dairy
According to the USDA, an emphasis on dairy products is an essential part of any diet. Fortunately, many dairy products come in low-fat, low-cholesterol varieties, which contain the same essential nutrients, such as protein and calcium. Choose low-fat dairy products instead of trying to get your protein or calcium from other foods. To make this easier, the NHLBI suggests switching from higher fat to lower fat dairy products gradually to allow your taste-buds time to adjust. Regarding dairy intake, the NHLBI also warns you not to eat high-fat, high-cholesterol cheeses instead of fatty meats, because the cholesterol content in cheese can be just as high as the levels in the meat you are avoiding.
Meat and Beans
To get the nutrients you need in from the meat and beans group, without raising your cholesterol level, the NHLBI recommends you choose only the leanest meats, poultry and fish, remove the skin from chicken or turkey, and limit the total amount of foods in this group to 5 oz. daily, as even the leanest choices can raise cholesterol levels. Choose white meat chicken over dark-meat chicken and any type of chicken over goose or duck. Use fish for some variety, as it is also a good source of protein which is generally lower in fat and cholesterol than either meat or poultry. You can also eat vegetarian meat substitutes, such as peas, beans and tofu which are lower in fat and cholesterol than meat. NHLBI suggests replacing eggs, which are high in cholesterol, with egg whites, which are cholesterol-free.
Fats and Oils
Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats. This mainly means using vegetable oils instead of butter or lard. Also, avoid packaged foods which contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, hydrogenated vegetable oils, or shortening, as these most likely contain trans fat, which also increases bad cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol-Lowering Foods
A few foods can directly lower your cholesterol levels. Experts agree most on oatmeal, oat bran and fish. Oatmeal and oat bran are rich in soluble fiber and can help reduce the bad type of cholesterol without affecting the good type of cholesterol. Fish, such as salmon and trout, have omega-3 fatty acids which also help lower your cholesterol.
