High cholesterol is a big concern as it puts a burden on your heart by increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other heart-related illnesses. Therefore, along with adopting healthy lifestyle habits, choosing the best cholesterol-reducing foods is equally important to minimise this risk.
Hence, in the sections below, we have listed 12 excellent cholesterol-control food options that are delicious additions to a cholesterol diet.
Do you know:
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that the global prevalence of high cholesterol patients was 39% in 2008. Among these, 37% of people belonged to the male category, while 40% were females. 1
- According to a research paper published in 2022, there was a 46.7% rise in the number of deaths that occurred due to high cholesterol from 1990 to 2021.
- Likewise, the number of people who died because of high cholesterol was approximately 4.4 million in 2021 worldwide. 2
Hence, apart from increasing your risk of death, the reasons why high cholesterol shouldn't be ignored are many. One of the most prominent reasons is that high cholesterol puts pressure on your heart, making you more vulnerable to cardiovascular disorders.
The Role of Diet in Managing Cholesterol with a Diet Chart
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that resembles fat. While it is essential for your body in some amounts, excess can do more harm than good. A protein called lipoprotein is the carrier of cholesterol. Hence, it is categorised into two types—
- Good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL)
- Bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL)
A high amount of LDL in your blood increases your risk of heart disease. 3
Henceforth, you can take either an LDL cholesterol test or an HDL cholesterol test to determine the level of each of these in your body. These tests can help you choose the right kind of cholesterol control food to meet your specific needs.
How Does Diet Affect Cholesterol Levels?
It is important to have cholesterol-reducing foods because your diet greatly impacts your cholesterol levels. Likewise, the food you eat contains certain elements directly responsible for increasing your cholesterol levels. These include—
Saturated And Trans Fats
Minimising the intake of foods that are rich in saturated fats and trans fats is an essential component of a cholesterol diet. Here's why:
Saturated Fats
Suppose your diet is full of saturated fats. Along with this, saturated fats also increase the risk of other heart problems. Hence, it is important to choose low-cholesterol foods over dairy products and fatty meat cuts to minimise the saturated fat content in your cholesterol diet. 4
Trans Fats
For a patient with high cholesterol, trans fats are even more dangerous than saturated fats. The main reason they are excluded from a cholesterol-control diet is the fact that they not only increase bad cholesterol (LDL) but also decrease good cholesterol (HDL). Plus, they cause inflammation, which can result in—
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Heart stroke
Processed snacks with baked and fried items contain the maximum trans fats. Hence, you must avoid these foods to reduce cholesterol.
Dietary Cholesterol Vs. Blood Cholesterol
The most misunderstood fact is that your dietary cholesterol is equal to your blood cholesterol. But that is not true. They are two very different things.
Hence, it is not necessary that all the cholesterol that you intake through your diet go into your blood. This is because—
- Firstly, your body has strict mechanisms that control cholesterol production.
- Secondly, the levels of cholesterol in your blood come from carbohydrates and fats that are present in your diet (and not from dietary cholesterol) 5
Therefore, dietary cholesterol hardly has an impact on your blood cholesterol levels.
General Dietary Guidelines for Lowering Cholesterol
A good cholesterol-control diet comprises the inclusion of cholesterol-reducing foods. These are the foods that contain the minimum unhealthy fats and the maximum amount of fibre and healthy fats that lower cholesterol quickly.
1. Whole Foods
Since they are low in fats and cholesterol, whole foods are the most important variety of cholesterol-control foods that you must include in your cholesterol diet.
Examples include—
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Whole grains
- Lean meats
- Low-fat dairy products
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Canned Fish
- Vegetable oils 6
2. High Fiber Foods
Edibles that are high in fibre (especially soluble fibre) are considered excellent low-cholesterol foods because they have the ability to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) in your body.
Examples include—
- Oatmeal
- Apple
- Pear
- Brussels Sprouts
- Kidney beans 7
Healthy Fats Vs. Unhealthy Fats
While it is important to avoid unhealthy fats like saturated fats and trans fats to reduce cholesterol, there is another category called healthy fats, which are, in fact, good for your heart. These include:
Monounsaturated fats: They are found in cholesterol-lowering foods like—
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Vegetable oils
- Nuts
- Avocado
Polyunsaturated fats: They are found in cholesterol-reducing foods like—
- Walnuts
- Chia seeds
- Canola oil
- Flaxseeds
Both of these healthy fats reduce bad cholesterol and enhance your heart health, saving you from developing heart disease. Hence, including these cholesterol-control food items in your diet for high cholesterol is essential.
But before you start taking a cholesterol diet, it is important to determine what levels of healthy and unhealthy fats your body has. Taking a lipid profile test can help you determine this.
Diet Chart for High Cholesterol
Here is a weekly diet plan that you can adopt to reduce cholesterol:
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Day
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Breakfast
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Lunch
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Dinner
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Monday
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Oatmeal + sliced apples + cinnamon
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Grilled chicken salad with tomatoes and fresh green vegetables
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Baked salmon with steamed broccoli and quinoa
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Tuesday
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A smoothie made with 2 bananas, spinach, and whey protein
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Whole grain bread with lentil soup
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Brown rice with stir fry, Tofu, and mixed vegetables
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Wednesday
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Whole grain toast with added avocado, pepper, and salt
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Quinoa salad that has black beans, corn, bell peppers, and lime dressing
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Grilled mackerel with sweet potato and steamed asparagus
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Thursday
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Chia pudding consisting of almonds, milk, and a fresh fruit topping
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Turkey wraps with whole grain tortilla, spinach, and mustard
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baked cod with a side of barley and roasted Brussels sprouts
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Friday
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Oats with sliced bananas and walnuts
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Spinach salad with chickpeas and cherry tomatoes
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Grilled shrimp tacos with cabbage slaw on whole-grain tortillas
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Saturday
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A smoothie bowl consisting of mixed fruit berries, honey, and sliced diamonds
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Vegetable stir-fry with tofu and brown rice
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Baked chicken breast with roasted vegetables (carrots, zucchini, and bell peppers)
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Sunday
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Whole grain pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup
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Quinoa and black bean bowl with avocado and salsa
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Grilled tilapia with a side of farro and steamed green beans
|
Top 12 Best Cholesterol-Reducing Foods
Right from whole grains to high-fibre fruits and leafy green vegetables, here is the list of the top 12 best cholesterol-reducing foods that you can readily incorporate into your cholesterol diet:
1. Oats
Oats are on top of our list of the best cholesterol-reducing foods because of their high soluble fibre content.
Soluble fibre does not let bad cholesterol get absorbed directly into your bloodstream. As a result, it helps in lowering your LDL cholesterol and makes oats an essential component of a cholesterol-control diet.
Hence, to make oats a part of your cholesterol diet, you can use it in the form of—
2. Whole Grains
What makes whole grains an ideal food to reduce cholesterol is their high nutrition content, which offers plenty of—
- Fibre
- Complex carbohydrates
- Protein
So, whole grains and associated cholesterol-control foods that you can choose from include—
- Oats
- Whole wheat
- Barley
- Flaxseed
- Whole wheat berries
- Quinoa
- Millet
In addition to these, you can incorporate bread, cereals, and pasta made with whole grains into your cholesterol diet.
3. Fatty Fish
The presence of omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish makes them a great food to reduce cholesterol in a non-vegetarian diet for high cholesterol.
Here's why:
Triglycerides are a distinct type of fat present in your blood. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce triglycerides to increase your good cholesterol.
Examples of fishes that have high omega-3 fatty acid content include—
- Mackerel
- Herring
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Trout
To make these fish a healthy part of your cholesterol diet, it is best recommended to eat them, either baked or grilled.
4. Beans
Beans are an easy-to-use cholesterol-control food in your everyday meals. They contain plenty of soluble fibre, which initiates the task of kicking out bad cholesterol from your blood.
The best part is that you can easily use these low-cholesterol foods to make dishes like hummus, burritos, bean bread, etc. All in all, they are a nutritious, fulfilling, and flavourful addition to a cholesterol diet. 8
So, here are some beans that can help you to reduce cholesterol easily—
- Black beans
- Soya beans
- Lentils
- Edamame
- Kidney beans
- Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
5. Eggplant
Eggplants are among the most delicious cholesterol-reducing foods that make a perfect fit into a low-fat and low-calorie cholesterol diet. They contain a substance called chlorogenic acid, which helps to decrease bad cholesterol.
Along with this, they also have plenty of fibre, antioxidants, and other beneficial nutrients like—
- Vitamins B1, B6, B9, B3, and K
- Manganese
- Dietary fibre
- Protein 9
6. Okra
Okra is another nutrient-rich cholesterol-control food that can make a wonderful addition to any vegetarian cholesterol diet. It is also low in calories and has plenty of—
- Fibre
- Vitamins A, C, K, B-6 and B9
- Magnesium
- Antioxidants
Hence, it initiates the excretion of bad cholesterol from your body so that it does not get directly absorbed into your bloodstream. These properties make okra one of the best cholesterol-reducing foods. 10
7. Nuts
If you're looking for cholesterol-reducing foods that you can add as a light snack to your cholesterol diet, then nuts are your best pick.
These low-cholesterol foods offer a plethora of benefits, like—
- Lowering of triglycerides and bad cholesterol
- Minimising the risk of inflammation and high blood pressure
- Overall improvement in heart health
Nuts have the following heart-healthy elements that make them a must-have component of a diet to reduce cholesterol—
- Monounsaturated fats
- Polyunsaturated fats
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Protein
- Fibre
- Plant sterols
- L-arginine
So, here is a list of nuts that you can add to your cholesterol diet—
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Macadamia nuts
- Hazelnuts
- Pecans 11
8. Vegetable Oils
It is essential to not eat food cooked with too much oil when you're following a cholesterol-controlled diet. At the same time, it is equally important to choose heart-healthy oils that can help in lowering your bad cholesterol.
Since these contain sufficient monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, they are good cholesterol-reducing foods.
Examples of oils that you can use to prepare your cholesterol-control food include—
- Olive oil (the healthiest option)
- Soybean oil
- Canola oil
- Corn oil
- Peanut oil
- Sunflower oil 12
9. Avocados
Avocados are a type of cholesterol-reducing food that is good for your overall health, not just your heart health. They—
- Reduce bad cholesterol
- Contain plenty of monounsaturated fatty acids
- And they can be easily incorporated into different dishes, ranging from salads to sandwiches.
It is recommended to have at least 2 avocados every week to include them in your cholesterol diet.
10. Fruits
Fruits are wholesome, cholesterol-reducing foods that contain plenty of fibre, which helps lower bad cholesterol.
So, here are the healthiest low-cholesterol foods among fruits.
- Pears
- Apples
- Oranges
- Lemons
- Berries
Since fruits can be easily added to smoothies and are a light-snacking option, you can add them to the breakfast part of your cholesterol diet.
11. Non-Starchy Vegetables
Non-starchy vegetables are excellent cholesterol-reducing foods because they are—
- High in fibre
- Low in calories
- Have enough protein
These low-cholesterol foods help bring down triglyceride levels. Hence, they are good for a cholesterol-controlled diet.
So, here are some good options to add to a diet for high cholesterol—
- Leafy green vegetables
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Carrots
- Asparagus
- Brussels sprouts
- Peppers 13
12. Sterols And Stanols Fortified Foods
Apart from organic cholesterol-reducing foods, you can also opt for fortified foods that come with added sterols and stanols.
Sterols and stanols do not let cholesterol get absorbed into your digestive tract. Hence, foods that have them make great cholesterol-control foods.
Examples of foods that to cholesterol fast because of the presence of sterols and stanols include—
- Sterol-enriched yoghourt
- Low-fat milk
- Fortified bread
- Fruit juices, especially orange juice
- Certain types of cereals
Additional Tips for a Cholesterol-Friendly Diet
Along with including cholesterol-control food in your diet, Here are a few additional tips that you can follow to maximise the effect of a cholesterol diet—
Limit High Cholesterol Foods
A diet for high cholesterol is not just about eating more cholesterol-lowering foods. It is also about minimising the intake of foods that increase cholesterol. Examples of such foods include—
- Liver meat
- Egg yolks
- Shrimp
- Dairy products made with whole milk
Minimise Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol makes you overweight, and excessive weight gain is a risk factor for high levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides. That is why it is essential to minimise alcohol intake while following a diet for high cholesterol.
All in all, there are many ways to reduce cholesterol, such as modifying your diet. However, before you formulate a cholesterol diet, it is a good idea to take a total cholesterol test. This test can let you know your individual needs so that you can choose the best cholesterol-lowering foods according to your body's personal requirements.
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