Sunday, February 26, 2012

Foods That Lower Your Cholesterol

Steamed vegetables, like asparagus,
are a great way to lower your
cholesterol.
Many of us want to avoid going on statin drugs to lower our cholesterol as long as we possibly can.  High cholesterol is a serious health problem that contributes to heart disease, strokes and may even be linked to Alzheimers, although that connection is less clear.  In either case, all of us need to be aware of our cholesterol numbers and do whatever we can to keep in line.

As a result, we need to understand the importance of keeping our bad cholesterol as low as possible.  Fortunately, the website RealAge.com has identified a number of foods that appear to lower our bad cholesterol ... when they are eaten on a regular basis.

Foods That Lower Cholesterol

Almonds
Orange Juice that is sterol-fortified (or sterol fortified margarine, milk, soymilk, and other foods)
Olive Oil -- about 2 tablespoons a day
Steamed Asparagus, as well as beets, carrots, eggplant, okra, green beans or cauliflower
Oatmeal -- enough to get at least 5 grams of soluble fiber a day
Pinto Beans -- half a cup every day
Blueberries -- they can be fresh, frozen or freeze dried.
Tomatoes -- aim for about half a cup of tomato sauce a day.
Avocado
Dark Chocolate -- Only about 1 ounce a day, containing 70% cocoa. What a wonderful way to end a day's menu full of these other delicious foods!

When I read this list, I realized that I eat everything on it ... sometimes.  There wasn't a single food that I had chosen to eat consistently every day, not even the chocolate.  This is probably one reason why I have found it necessary to begin taking a low dose of a statin now that I am in my 60's.

Since learning this information, I have switched to eating oatmeal for breakfast, treating myself to a small bit of dark chocolate every day, and trying to make sure that I eat one or two other things from the list, as well.  At the very least, these choices may help keep my arteries clear and could help be stay on a low dose statin.

Fortunately, we have statins available to help make up for our sometimes unhealthy eating patterns or a hereditary tendency to manufacture too much cholesterol.  However, even if you are prescribed a statin, you should still try to include as many of these foods as possible in your diet, too.  You may be able to use a lower dosage of statins if you make an effort to lower your bad cholesterol naturally!

If you are looking for additional health and retirement information, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this article.  They contain links to hundreds of additional articles on a variety of retirement and aging related topics.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com 

Photo courtesy of photoxpress.com

Source for foods that lower cholesterol: http://www.realage.com/health-guides/foods-to-lower-cholesterol?src=edit&chan=health-guides&con=lm-article#fbIndex11

3 comments:

  1. Isn't it wonderful to know that many of the foods that lower cholesterol are foods we love? Add walnuts to this list too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yummy! I'm glad to know that walnuts would fit this category, too, since I love the flavor of walnuts in many dishes. Thanks for following!

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