Fresh fruit and vegetables. Fresh fruits like apricots, berries, apples, pears and vegetables like carrots, cabbage, and sweet potatoes are high in soluble fiber so they can effectively reduce your LDL levels. Five servings a day is considered ideal.

Oats. Oatmeal and oat bran are also excellent source of soluble fiber. 1 ½ cups of cooked oatmeal is recommended; more so if combined with fruits like banana.

Walnuts and almonds. Although high in calories, these nuts are said to lower LDL levels according to studies. A maximum of 2 ounces or 57 grams in your diet is enough to reduce bad cholesterol.

Fish. A diet of at least two servings of fish in one week is recommended to reduce LDL levels for its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

Olive oil and other oils. Approximately 2 tablespoons or 23 grams of olive oil daily can reduce bad cholesterol; even more so if extra-virgin olive oil is used. Other oils such as canola, avocado, peanut, soy and corn are also recommended.

Sterols or stanols fortified food. Food fortified with sterols or stanols such as margarines, orange juice as well as yogurt keep bad cholesterols from being absorbed in our body. At least 2 grams of plant sterols a day, however, is necessary to see results.

Eliminating trans fat from your diet is not the only way to reduce bad cholesterol. Eating the right (cholesterol reducing foods) will also provide great results.

Ways To Raise Good Cholesterol (HDL) Levels

Quit smoking. One of the many disadvantages of smoking is that it lowers HDL cholesterol so quitting will naturally increase HDL levels.

Get rid of excess weight. By trimming down, a few pounds can actually make a difference. Approximately .35 mg/dL increase in HDL levels can be expected when you lose 2 pounds of excess weight.

Be more physically active. Aerobic exercise, done regularly for at least 30 to 60 minutes, is said to increase HDL cholesterol. If you can manage to exercise everyday, the better chances of increasing your HDL levels.
Stay away from trans fat. Food with trans fat lowers HDL cholesterol and boost LDL levels so stop eating most prepared food with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Go for monounsaturated fat instead (e.g. olive, canola and avocado oils).

Moderate alcohol intake. Studies show that drinking alcohol (specifically red wine), but only moderately, can raise your level of HDL cholesterol. This is limited to a drink a day for women and a maximum of two drinks for men.

Having cholesterol in our body is normal and it’s even necessary to maintain a healthy body. That’s because cholesterol, in itself, is not bad. You only need to focus on raising your good cholesterol and keeping the bad cholesterol low.

Fresh fruit and vegetables. Fresh fruits like apricots, berries, apples, pears and vegetables like carrots, cabbage, and sweet potatoes are high in soluble fiber so they can effectively reduce your LDL levels. Five servings a day is considered ideal.

Oats. Oatmeal and oat bran are also excellent source of soluble fiber. 1 ½ cups of cooked oatmeal is recommended; more so if combined with fruits like banana.

Walnuts and almonds. Although high in calories, these nuts are said to lower LDL levels according to studies. A maximum of 2 ounces or 57 grams in your diet is enough to reduce bad cholesterol.
Fish. A diet of at least two servings of fish in one week is recommended to reduce LDL levels for its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

Olive oil and other oils. Approximately 2 tablespoons or 23 grams of olive oil daily can reduce bad cholesterol; even more so if extra-virgin olive oil is used. Other oils such as canola, avocado, peanut, soy and corn are also recommended.

Sterols or stanols fortified food. Food fortified with sterols or stanols such as margarines, orange juice as well as yogurt keep bad cholesterols from being absorbed in our body. At least 2 grams of plant sterols a day, however, is necessary to see results.

Eliminating trans fat from your diet is not the only way to reduce bad cholesterol. Eating the right (cholesterol reducing foods) will also provide great results.

Cholesterol (fat) travels through the body by attaching itself to proteins. It is this protein-cholesterol combo (called a lipoprotein) that defines the healthiness of a person as it relates to the amount of cholesterol present in relation to the amount of protein present. The classification is as follows:

low density liproproteins (LDL) / very low density liproproteins (VLDL) – LDL and VLDL are both bad cholesterols, as the amount of fat outnumbers the amount of protein in the blood. This often leads to a plaque buildup on artery walls.

high density liproproteins (HDL) HDL is good cholesterol as the strong protein amount helps the blood rid itself of bad cholesterol.

Healing Through Healthy Living

By reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol consumed, a person can decrease their LDL cholesterol level. Eat healthy by including fruits and vegetables regularly in the daily rotation. In addition, since smoking lowers HDL, those who quit also realize better “good” cholesterol levels. And finally, aerobic exercise is a great way to lose extra pounds and in the process raise your HDL level.

Natural Treatments

Garlic, chromium, soy and Vitamin C and royal jelly have long been used to reduce LDL levels in the blood. Psyllium seeds, carnitine, Coenzyme Q10, pantothine, red yeast rice have been used to promote the health of HDL in the blood. And fiber works in tthe small intestines to present cholesterol from entering into the bloodstream.

Policosanol – a natural extract from bees wax and sugar cane which has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels as well as raise HDL (good) cholesterol. More importantly policosanol has been proven to be free of side effects, unlike the statins.

Guggulipid Extract – an ancient herb from India recently shown to lower cholesterol levels as well as reduce triglyceride levels, another important risk factor for heart disease.

Green Tea – green tea is widely used for many medicinal purposes, and has been shown to reduce triglycerides as well as LDL cholesterol, and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Green tea also has antioxidants that can prevent heart disease, cancer and other illnesses.

Beta Sitosterol – Found naturally in soybeans, wheat germ and corn oil, this plant compound has a similar structure to cholesterol and as such can help stop the absorption of cholesterol in the body. Studies also point to its anti-cancer and immune boosting effects.

Fish Oil – With its high Omega 3 Fatty Acid content, fish oil can significantly lower cholesterol and fat levels as well as promote heart health and cardiovascular fitness.