Get Nutty To Lower Cholesterol

One of the best and tasty steps you can take to help lower your cholesterol is to add nuts to your diet. Nuts contain heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are poly-unsaturated acids. Numerous studies show that omega-3 fatty acids help to lower triglycerides and increase high density lipoproteins (HDL-the good cholesterol that helps remove the bad cholesterol from the walls of the arteries) which are two important steps in improving overall cholesterol readings.

Omega-3 fatty acids consist of a-linolenic acid (ALA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). They have many health benefits such as: helping to prevent heart disease and blood clots, lowering cholesterol levels, and reducing inflammation.

While omega-3 fatty acids helps prevent blood from clotting by acting as an anticoagulant, there are several studies out that show these fatty acids also help to lower high blood pressure in some cases.

Another great thing about adding nuts to your diet is that they are vegetarian friendly. Omega-3 is found in fatty fish such as: salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines and trout. While some vegetarians do allow fish in their diets, there are some strict vegans that don't include fish or any animal products in their diets. So nuts are a wonderful way to get your omega-3's while maintaining the integrity of a vegetarian diet.

Soybeans, tofu and flaxseed are also excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

Now all nuts are not created equal, some have better health benefits than others. Walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and hazelnuts have the highest amounts of unsaturated fats and the lowest amounts of saturated fats.

Brazil nuts and macadamia nuts contain high amounts of unsaturated fats; unfortunately, they also contain higher amounts of saturated fats when compared to other nuts. While these nuts are tasty and do contain omega-3 fatty acids, be aware that they are also high in saturated fats.

The FDA has given the approval for some nuts to be labeled as "heart-healthy" because of their ratio of unsaturated fat to saturated fat. Because of their high level of saturated fat, hazel and Brazil nuts are not allowed the "heart-healthy" labeling.

Nuts are a delicious food that can be eaten as a snack or added to cereals, oatmeal, salads and baked goods.

Of course nuts alone will not do much to lower cholesterol. You need to add nuts to a healthy, balanced diet of clean fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, lean meat and low or non-fat dairy products.

So, go get nutty!

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