10 Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally Eat Superfoods Such as Oatmeal and Almonds By Carly Young, Special to Lifescript Continued: 3. Flaxseeds Flaxseeds contain lignan and soluble fiber, which block the production of LDL and increase your body’s ability to get rid of cholesterol. How to sneak it in: Eat ground flaxseeds rather than whole ones, because your body can better absorb its nutrients. Brill likes to sprinkle them into her morning oatmeal. New studies also show that whole flaxseeds are better than flaxseed oil for lowering cholesterol. 4. Garlic Garlic impedes the liver’s ability to make cholesterol. How to sneak it in: Chop garlic into small pieces to release its flavor. Sauté it with steamed spinach, add it to sauces and soups or purée roasted garlic with cooked potatoes and olive oil for a heart-healthy version of everybody’s favorite: mashed potatoes. 5. Phytosterol-Containing Foods Phytosterols are a fat found in plant foods such as fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. They interfere with cholesterol absorption by blocking it from your intestinal cells. How to sneak it in: Even a vegetarian diet provides no more than 300-400 mg of plant sterols a day, well below Brill’s recommendation. So supplement this with foods containing added phytosterols – chocolate bars, margarine, cheese, granola bars and cookies, to name a few – but keep an eye on saturated fat and trans-fat content.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 04:05:00 +0000
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