Cut Your LDL Cholesterol with Diet

The word “cholesterol” usually has a negative connotation, but it’s not all bad. In fact, your body requires cholesterol for building cell walls, digesting fat, and controlling certain hormones. However, too much of one type of cholesterol, LDL, can raise your risk of heart disease.

While it’s true that you can’t do anything about some highcholesterol risk factors, such as heredity and age, you can help control your cholesterol by following a healthy dietary pattern, getting regular exercise, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Cholesterol 101

Your bloodstream contains LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and HDL (“good”) cholesterol. LDL cholesterol, along with other substances, can build up and form plaque on the inner lining of your arteries, which eventually narrows your arteries and causes them to become less flexible—a condition called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of heart disease, and it raises your risk of heart attack and stroke. HDL cholesterol is “good” because it helps remove LDL from your bloodstream. When you get your annual blood work done, you want your LDL level to be below 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) and your HDL level to be 50 mg/dL or higher.

Smart Food Choices

Fortunately, there are many foods that will help you control your cholesterol. Here are some general guidelines:

Eat plenty of plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts. Include at least two servings per week of cold-water fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, mackerel, tuna, sardines, and herring.

Choose lean proteins, including skinless poultry, lean meats, eggs, low-fat and fat free dairy (milk, cheese, and yogurt), beans, nuts, and tofu.

Replace solid fats (like butter or lard) with liquid vegetable oils, and limit added fats during the cooking process.

Eat whole or minimally processed foods most of the time; skip packaged, highly processed foods and fast foods.

Avoid whole-fat dairy products, fatty meats, and processed meats (bacon, sausage, pepperoni, cold cuts).

“Focus on replacing saturated and trans fats in your diet with unsaturated fats from foods such as fatty fish, nuts, avocados, and plant-based oils, including olive, canola, and safflower oils,” says Jenna Rosenfeld, MS, RD, a clinical dietitian at Weill Cornell. “Combine this with eating mostly plant foods, and you’ll be on the fast track to improve your cholesterol and heart health.”

Here’s a more in-depth look at making your diet more heart-healthy.

Choose Healthy Fats

Unsaturated fats—mono- and polyunsaturated fats—are key nutrients in plant foods that have a beneficial effect on LDL cholesterol. Good sources of polyunsaturated fats are sesame and sunflower seeds and their oils, as well as corn, soybean, and safflower oils. Walnuts, almonds, and other tree nuts are also packed with polyunsaturated fats.

Monounsaturated fats can be found in canola, olive, and peanut oils, nuts, and avocados. Don’t concern yourself with which type of unsaturated fat you’re getting; in fact, all of the foods mentioned here contain both mono- and polyunsaturated fats. The main message is that the majority of your dietary fat should come from plant foods.

Limit Saturated and Trans Fats

Diets high in saturated fat are linked with higher LDL levels and a higher incidence of heart disease. Foods highest in saturated fat include red and processed meats, butter, whole milk, cream, cheese, and dairy-based desserts such as ice cream and cheesecake. A few plant foods, such as palm, palm kernel, and coconut oils, are also high in saturated fat.

Aim to keep saturated fat intake at or below 10 percent of your daily calories; that’s about 16 grams if you consume 1,600 calories a day or 20 grams if you consume 2,000 calories a day. Trans fats are associated with higher LDL levels as well as lower levels of HDL cholesterol. Industrially produced trans fats are found in processed foods that contain partially hydrogenated oil (PHO).

Trans fats have been linked with such detrimental health effects that, several years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration instructed food manufacturers to remove all PHOs from processed foods. Although the deadline for this removal has passed, you may still find a few products that contain PHO, so check the ingredients lists on processed foods and avoid those with PHO. Products that require close scrutiny include non-dairy creamers, frostings, refrigerated or frozen biscuits, rolls, pie crusts, and stick margarine.

Focus on Fiber

Dietary fiber is the component of plant foods that isn’t broken down in your digestive system. There are two forms of fiber: insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fiber doesn’t change much as it passes through your digestive tract. It’s especially helpful for healthy bowel movements. Soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance as you digest it, and it keeps you feeling fuller longer. Diets that are rich in soluble fiber are associated with lowering LDL levels.

Good sources of soluble fiber include oatmeal, oat bran, legumes (beans, peas, and lentils), apples, oranges, carrots, and pears. Try to eat about 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber from a variety of food sources daily, including vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; animalsourced foods do not contain fiber.

Take High Cholesterol Seriously

If your LDL level is in the unhealthy range—anything over 160 mg/dL is considered high, but many doctors advise aiming for an LDL of less than 100 mg/dL, especially if you have other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, obesity, or diabetes—work with your doctor on a treatment plan to bring down your LDL. You may need a cholesterol-lowering medication (such as a statin), along with a healthy diet and regular exercise, to get your cholesterol under control.

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