Foods to Lower Your Cholesterol Levels

New cholesterol gridlines show that people should keep their HDL cholesterol (or "good" cholesterol) levels above 40 milligrams while keeping their LDL cholesterol (or "bad" cholesterol) below 200 milligrams. Or at least, until recently, this was the proper scale. On the other hand, a new scale has been set for LDL levels - people who do not have any other risk factors for heart disease should keep their LDL cholesterol levels less than 130 milligrams. LDL levels below 100 milligrams should be kept by people with one or more risk factors for heart disease such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.

The obvious question that runs through everybody's heads when these new scales are shown is what are the ways through which total cholesterol level and especially LDL cholesterol levels can be lowered. A good start may be to choose foods that keep the cholesterol in your blood low. Some easy ways to keep the cholesterol low in your blood are listed below:

Regular diary products such as cheese, whole milk, butter, ricotta cheese and cream cheese are all high in saturated fat and it is recommended to avoid them as much as possible. Instead, you can use non-fat or low-fat dairy products including milk, yogurt and cheese.

The intake of saturated fat should be severely limited. Saturated fat should only provide no more than 5 percent of your daily calories. For most people that's about 10 to 11 grams. A tablespoon of margarine has only 2 grams of saturated fat while one tablespoon of butter has 7 grams of saturated fat.

Trans-fat foods should also be avoided. Baked goods, desserts and crackers are processed foods that contain partially hydrogenated oils which are filled with trans-fats. Some other foods that contain partially hydrogenated oils are the oils found in fried foods.

When possible include soy protein in your diet instead of animal protein. It has been shown that when part of a heart-healthy diet, 25 grams of soy protein per day can help lower your cholesterol.

Increase the intake of fiber especially soluble fiber. Flax, barley, oats, fruits, root vegetables, legumes are all excellent soluble fiber sources. Your LDL cholesterol levels are getting lowered by 1 percent for every 1 or 2 grams of soluble fiber you eat daily.

The intake of fructose and sugar should be pretty limited. Doing this should aid weight loss and lower LDL cholesterol but also it will lower triglycerides.

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