High cholesterol contributes to heart disease, which is the No. 1 killer for both men and women in the United States. Heart attacks happen often without warning the first time around. Eating well and exercising help to keep the body healthy, along with cholesterol levels. Learning to limit the foods that cause a rise in cholesterol will help keep heart disease chances down as well.
Fiber
Fruits and vegetables have powerful ingredients such as fiber to help with high cholesterol. Soluble fiber found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains such as oats and barley, and legumes such as lentils and beans help to lower LDL cholesterol by 3 to 5 percent, according to MSN Health. Fruits and vegetables high in soluble fiber include apples, pears, berries, citrus fruits, dates, figs, broccoli and sweet potatoes. Generally eating a diet with lots of natural color variation will help obtain the necessary fiber.
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats are also called unsaturated fats and are found in nuts, olives and fish. Using olive or nut oil to replace standard vegetable oil for cooking and baking is helpful. Eating whole nuts or fish offers much better nutrients than the oil alone. Omega-3 oils are the most popular of the unsaturated fats and are found in certain species of fish and flaxseed. The Mayo Clinic says the best types of nuts to eat are walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios and pine nuts. Avocados, whole or the oil, are also loaded with healthy fats.
Alcohol
It is important to check with your primary care doctor before just drinking alcohol as other individual health concerns may make alcohol more harmful than helpful, but moderate alcohol consumption has been found to be effective in helping to keep cholesterol levels in check. For women, the limit is one drink a day; for men, it is two. Wine is considered the best choice of alcohol because it has other benefits in the liquor, but all alcoholic drinks have been shown to help increase levels of HDL, the good cholesterol, according to MSN Health.
High Cholesterol Foods
Meat and animal products such as eggs all have cholesterol in them. The highest cholesterol foods are liver and eggs. Additional foods high in cholesterol include whole dairy products such as ice cream, butter, cheeses and creams. Those who enjoy eating organ meats such as kidneys and brains will find these are high in cholesterol, as are certain shellfish, such as crab and shrimp. The cholesterol in shellfish can be even higher as it is often consumed with warm butter.
Unhealthy Fats
Website Emergency Medicine TV says those with high cholesterol need to limit their fat intake to less than 7 percent of their total daily caloric intake. More often, it is foods loaded with saturated fats that contribute most to higher cholesterol. Saturated fats are found in all animal fats and animal skin. When picking ground meats, choose leaner meats and buy skinless whole meat products to help reduce the amount of fat consumed. Read food labels and learn to avoid foods containing trans fats or ingredient lists containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are actually trans fats. Other foods that contain unhealthy fats include processed meats, egg yolks, butter, whole dairy products, fried foods and baked goods made with butter, vegetable oils and whole dairy products.
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