Lower Cholesterol and the Food Fight

In the blue corner is 'bad boy' saturated fat found mostly in animal foods and in the red corner is 'nasty boy' cholesterol derived from animal products. And you are stuck in the middle fighting to keep your blood cholesterol levels as low as possible. Your lousy cholesterol or 'LDL' loves saturated fats and animal produced cholesterol, in fact eating too much saturated fat will raise your LDL dramatically and could lead to heart disease. So, to fight back, join the food fight, change your diet and actually lower your cholesterol.

One way to fight back is to eat more soluble fiber which reduces the absorption of 'bad boy' cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) into your bloodstream. So, hit back with at least five to ten grams or more of soluble fiber daily. For example Oatmeal is a good start and really packs a punch. Follow this up with prunes, barley, pears, apples and bananas. To help you six grams of fiber a day is about one and a half cups of cooked oatmeal. If you include bananas, your fiber intake increases by another four grams. And to finish off 'bad boy' you can use your oatmeal or oat bran with cold cereal.

In your fight back consider nuts as your secret weapon to help reduce your blood cholesterol, for example use walnuts and almonds which are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Also, to help reduce your risks to heart disease consider eating more walnuts as they keep blood vessels healthy. Use your secret weapon daily; about a handful of pistachio nuts, some pine nuts, pecans and hazelnuts, these will all help fight your risk to heart disease. But remember to stay on top in the battle avoid salted or sugar coated nuts and do not exceed the daily dose as nuts are also high in calories. Nuts are also a good substitute for saturated fat foods. So, hit back and replace cheese and meat with a handful of walnuts in your salad.

To sustain the long haul fight back eat omega-3 rich fatty fish to control your cholesterol. So, risky blood clots are hit into touch and your blood is lowered from eating certain fish with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Eating at least two servings of fish a week is recommended like halibut, tuna, salmon, albacore, sardines, herring, lake trout, and mackerel. Try to bake or grill your fish to avoid adding additional fat to your diet. If you prefer not to eat fish you can also try canola oil or ground flaxseed.

Winning is everything against the 'bad boy' saturated fat so in the final round take control over your health and fight back and lower your cholesterol.

Steve Campbell is a nutrition expert. For more great information on obtainlowercholesterol.com/lower-your-cholesterol-with-these-types-of-foods lower cholesterol foods, visit obtainlowercholesterol.com obtainlowercholesterol.com.