We have all heard about cholesterol and the importance of maintaining adequate levels to be healthy and reduce the risk of cardiovascular illness.
The bad cholesterol is LDL cholesterol, which are low intensity lipoproteins. It is transported by these lipoproteins throughout our bodies to the organs that need it to perform their vital functions.
It is considered bad because an excess of this type of cholesterol in the arteries can cause us cardiovascular health problems, for example, facilitating the appearance of coronary disease. That is why it is so important to control the levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood, so that it is not a risk factor for the development of these conditions.
If in the last analysis we had high bad cholesterol (more than 130 mg/dl) and the doctor advised us to improve our diet, we recommend eating these foods to lower the LDL cholesterol or “bad” cholesterol:
Foods to lower “bad” cholesterol:
The most recommendable thing is to have a balanced diet, which we can base on the following foods:
Oats: is a food rich in soluble fiber, which reduces the LDL because it prevents cholesterol from going into the bloodstream. It is recommended to eat between 5 and 10 grams of soluble fibre per day. We also find this nutrient in apples, bananas, pears, beans, raisins, etc.
Oily fish: it is recommended to eat at least 3 portions of fish a week because they are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which help to prevent the appearance of blood clots and reduce blood pressure, thus improving our cardiovascular health. The most recommended are sardines, albacore tuna or salmon. It is better to bake or steam them so that they retain all their properties and do not have saturated fats from the oil we use to cook them.
Dried fruits: especially almonds and nuts because they are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (which are good). Eating one 45-gram portion of nuts and dried fruit a day helps to fight against the onset of cardiovascular disease. However, it is better that they are neither sweetened nor stir-fried.
Olive oil: the antioxidants in olive oil help to reduce bad cholesterol without affecting the good cholesterol. It is better if it is extra virgin olive oil, but it is not necessary to consume it in excess because it is high in calories.
Fruits and vegetables: are rich in plant stanols or sterols, which help reduce bad cholesterol. In addition, they are rich in fiber which also helps in this purpose. Ideally, you should eat 3 servings per week of vegetables and 5 servings per day of fruit.
Tubers and cereals: you can eat any kind of them, rice, pasta, bread, etc. If they are wholemeal, so much the better. Because they have a large amount of fibre.
Drink plenty of water: water helps cleanse the body.
There are other measures we can put into practice to lower cholesterol. Avoid eating fried foods or foods rich in saturated fats, reduce alcohol consumption, cook with good fats, replace whole milk products with skimmed ones. We can also eat lean meat instead of fatty meat and avoid sausage, egg yolk or ultra processed products and industrial baked goods.