Is it Possible to Lower Your Cholesterol Through Diet Alone?

Most research suggests that it is indeed possible to substantially reduce cholesterol by up to 35 percent in a short amount of time but you must know which way the arrows are pointing. And realistically most people don't.

Quiz: Which is better for your cholesterol and an avocado or a skinless dark meat chicken breast? The answer is at the bottom of this article.

When trying to formulate a plan to lower your cholesterol through diet we need to gain an understanding of the three main categories of cholesterol. They is total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL. Total cholesterol is the total amount of cholesterol floating around in your bloodstream. HDL (high density lipoproteins) is considered good cholesterol and assumes the duties of the cholesterol janitor sweeping cholesterol out of the body in the form of solid waste. And then there is LDL (low density lipoproteins) who distributes essential cholesterol to our cells but can't quite keep from dropping some along the way. Despite his best efforts LDL is still known as the black sheep of the cholesterol clan.

For any diet to be really successful it will have to accomplish a couple of goals. First our diet will need to lower bad cholesterol and secondly to raise good cholesterol.

In this pursuit our goal will be to limit meat consumption to about 6 ounces per day, while holding saturated fat as a percentage of calories to about 10 percent. I know this calls for sacrifice especially if you love your steaks but here lies the problem. We are taught at a very early age that eating red meat is a really good thing. And in moderation is certainly can be, but what has happened is that the balance between meat and let's say vegetables is way, way off.

So our first major executive decision in making an attempt to lower your cholesterol with diet is to reduce the portion size of meat. Our next decision is to substitute fish twice a week thus harvesting the omega 3 fatty acids so beneficial in reducing the chance of heart attack and stroke. Furthermore we don't have to spend a fortune doing this. A simple can of albacore tuna will do just fine if you are on a tight budget.

Besides our executive decisions there 8 additional foods that are cholesterol friendly that we should try to work into our diets on a consistent basis. They are oat bran, oat meal, apples, kale, walnuts, almonds, olive oil, pomegranates, and blueberries. Some of these foods raise HDL while other lower LDL but nevertheless they are all cholesterol friendly choices. As far as pure super foods for health kale and blueberries top the list. As far as importance as far as lowering our cholesterol through diet oat bran and apples are tops.

In summary, without a doubt to lower your cholesterol through diet will require some sacrifices. Nevertheless, I can tell you first hand that once your cholesterol levels start declining, you drop a few of those extra pounds, and start to have extra energy there will be no stopping you! Additionally, many natural health minded individuals have found success through a combination of diet and lowered-cholesterol.com natural cholesterol reducing remedies. A powerful combination worth considering.

The answer to our quiz: Avocados are a slightly better choice. 26 out of the 30 grams of fat in an avocado are heart healthy and have been shown to increase HDL (good cholesterol).

Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of safe and effective high quality alternative health products and natural living, with over 10 years experience in the field. Learn more about natural remedies and natural health at purchaseremedies.com Purchase Remedies.com