Lower Your Cholesterol

Scientists have revealed that we can get our cholesterol back to a healthy level not only by eliminating damaging foods (such as saturated and trans fats) but by incorporating some of nature's most nutritious foods in our daily menu.

Include these healthy foods into you daily meals and watch your numbers go down.

• Oats - Beta-glucan in oats absorbs "Bad"LDL cholesterol which is then excreted through the bowel. A Columbia University study discovered that eating 2 servings of cereal containing oats each day for 6 weeks lowered total cholesterol by 4.5% and "Bad"LDL cholesterol by 5.3%. Wow! Shouldn't we be finding more ways to get Oats into our daily menus?


• Walnuts - The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that eating 1.5 ounces of whole nuts, 6 days a week for 1 month lowered "Bad"LDL cholesterol 9.3% and total cholesterol 5.4%. Be aware that all nuts are calorie dense and a 1.5 ounce serving contains about 277 calories.


• Fatty Fish - Such as salmon, herring & sardines eaten twice a week for 1 month raises "Good"HDL cholesterol by 4%. I found some frozen salmon pattys at my grocer that we use in place of ground beef pattys. They are very delicious and convenient.


• Beans (Legumes) - Carol Johnston, PhD.RD, professor of nutrition at Arizona State University says Pinto beans, when eaten everyday for 8 weeks can lower cholesterol levels 8%. Legumes contain soluble fiber which inhibits the absorption of cholesterol.


• Mushrooms - Eating maitake, enoki & shiitake mushrooms daily can lower blood cholesterol by 25% after 4 weeks. This was reported in a study published in Experimental Biology and Medicine. This is the highest reduction I've found so far! WOW!