It can be hard to find a baked good that is both delicious and has health benefits. An oatmeal cookie may be the answer to this dilemma. While some oatmeal cookies may help lower cholesterol, it is important to understand different ingredients in oatmeal cookie and their affects. This will help you choose oatmeal cookies that can lower cholesterol and avoid those that might raise your cholesterol.
Standard Ingredients
Oatmeal cookies normally contain flour, oats, sugar, fat, eggs and some other ingredients based on personal preference. For maximum health benefits, use whole wheat flour, rather than white, to increase the cholesterol-lowering effect of the cookies. The amount of oats varies between recipes from barely any included to a cookie that is mostly oats. Making cookies with high oat content increases the health benefits. Adding dried fruits with fiber, such as dried cherries or raisins, will also increase the cholesterol-lowering effects of the cookies.
Traditionally, butter is the fat source in oatmeal cookies, but many recipes are now made with oils. Recipes may call for whole eggs, eggs whites or no eggs at all, but usually eggs are included as a binder. Using butter and egg yolks will reduce the cholesterol-lowering effects of the cookies.
Oatmeal and Dried Fruits
Fruits and grains that contain fiber have been shown to reduce total blood cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Oatmeal cookies that include these ingredients can lower your cholesterol. Increase the benefits of your cookies by using a recipe with a lot of oats, whole grain flour, and raisins or other fruit.
Butter
Scientific evidence shows that diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol increase total blood cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. While coronary heart disease risk depends on many factors, having elevated total and LDL cholesterol will increase risk. For this reason, avoid oatmeal cookies made with butter or other solid fats, such as lard, coconut oil or palm oil, and stick with recipes that use vegetable oils high in poly- and mono-unsaturated fats. Examples include soy, canola, peanut, corn or olive oil.
Eggs
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a healthy person should consume no more than 300 mg of cholesterol a day. One egg yolk provides 213 mg of cholesterol. When making cookies from scratch, you can reduce the cholesterol by using only egg whites or an egg substitute. Limiting the amount of cookies you eat will also help. Each cookie contains between 10 to 20 mg of cholesterol.
Purchasing Heart-Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
The Food and Drug Administration regulates the health claims that companies can put on food packages. Under 21 CFR 101.77, in order for a food to claim that can help lower cholesterol it must contain fruit, vegetables or grains that contain fiber as well as be low in fat, cholesterol and saturated fat. If an oatmeal cookie has a health claim on its label, you can feel safe in knowing that you are purchasing a cookie that may help lower cholesterol.
