Want to Reduce Your Cholesterol? These Foods Will Help, Not Hurt

Most of us have heard that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet is necessary to lower blood cholesterol – for instance, reducing our intake of red meat, dairy products and eggs can be helpful. But there are also several foods that you can add to your list of routine fare that will help increase the benefits of your low-fat diet.

Joan Pleuss, RD, MS, is the Program Manager of the Bionutrition Core of the Medical College of Wisconsin General Clinical Research Center at Froedtert Hospital. In that role, she is involved in the nutritional component of studies conducted in the GCRC. She has compiled the following list of foods that will help you keep your blood fat levels at their best.

• Five servings a day of fruits and vegetables will provide a greater drop in the cholesterol count. That’s because this category of food is a source of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber lowers the LDL or “bad” cholesterol. The specific foods that are particularly high in soluble fiber are apples, citrus fruit, berries, carrots, apricots, prunes, cabbage, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. A serving is ˝ cup.
• All of the beans or legumes also provide soluble fiber. Adding to your diet about 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of lima, kidney, black or other dried beans daily has been shown to reduce cholesterol. Try substituting one or more of these for meat at one of your meals each day.
• Recently two new margarines, Benecol and Take Control, were introduced in the supermarkets. These contain ingredients known as stanol esters and plant sterols that block the absorption of cholesterol from the intestines. In recent studies they have decreased cholesterol levels by 10%.
• Studies have also shown that nuts help lower cholesterol and inhibit its absorption. Since they are concentrated in calories, you do need to watch the amount eaten. Try substituting them for meat. If your salt intake needs to be lowered, buy the unsalted nuts.
• Oats are another source of soluble fiber. However, you do need to eat 1˝ cups of oatmeal or 3 cups of dry oat cereals to have a significant effect. Other grains that are high in soluble fiber are barley and rice bran.
• Soy is another heart-healthy food. You’ll need to drink 2 cups of soy milk or eat 4 ounces of tofu to get a cholesterol-lowering effect. Try substituting soy for animal protein in your diet.
• Several of the vegetable oils can be beneficial. These include olive, canola, peanut, corn and soy oils. Fish, when substituted for meat, will also decrease cholesterol levels.
• Garlic is often touted as a food that helps lower cholesterol and it does have small, short-term effects – but for garlic to be effective it must be eaten raw and in large amounts.

The Medical College of Wisconsin General Clinical Research Center, in existence since 1962, provides resources and technologies for investigators to conduct research that will improve health. The GCRC is one of approximately 75 centers throughout the United States funded by the National Institutes of Health.

A version of this article appeared on the Froedtert & Medical College website Froedtert.com.

Each year, Medical College of Wisconsin physicians care for more than 180,000 patients, representing nearly 500,000 patient visits. Medical College physicians practice at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, and many other hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.