Top 10 foods to reduce high blood cholesterol levels
When aiming to improve the nutritional quality of your diet to support heart health, you don't need to go on any extreme dietary regime, but what you eat does matter and can make a big difference.
By making small consistent nutrition changes to your overall lifestyle and dietary pattern you can see lasting improvements to cholesterol and nutritional health.
Ten foods you want to eat more of to reduce blood cholesterol levels
These are the top 10 heart friendly foods I recommend people incorporate more into their diet to benefit heart health and help reduce high cholesterol levels:
Oats - betaglucans
Barley (not suitable for coeliac)
Lentils, beans, legumes eg chickpeas (hummus), borlotti beans, baked beans,
Berries – eg strawberries, raspberries, blackberries… Frozen is great because it’s then available all year round
Avocado - a recent meta-analysis showed that eating 0.75 - 2 avocados a day can help reduce elevated cholesterol levels within compromising weight within a normal or reduced energy diet
Extra virgin olive oil
Nuts – 30g is roughly a small handful so no need to measure or weigh it out. Great snack choice, our bodies don't absorb all the fats present when we eat them whole. Eating them slowly one at a time instead of the whole handful at once also helps with satisfaction and satiety.
Linseeds and chia seeds – linseeds/flaxseed do need grinding up (and keep them in the fridge).
Oily fish eg salmon, mackerel
Green leafy vegetables (and all vegetables really)
Psyllium husks - beneficial impact on reducing total and LDL cholesterol levels.
Gemma
Dr Gemma Sampson
If you’re interested in nutrition coaching to ensure you get the most out of your training and performance, book an online sports nutrition consultation to get you on the path to success.