What foods reduce cholesterol: list

How much has been bad about cholesterol. And so much attention is given to him, that sometimes it can even seem as if it is the most important enemy of mankind. Although getting rid of it is not difficult, if only adjust your diet and eat foods that lower cholesterol in your blood.

Enemy or friend?

In many articles about cholesterol it is called harmful. But is this really the case, given that this substance is produced even by the human body itself? And is our body so imperfect that it can harm itself?

The reason for this inconsistency is the lack of information. Not everyone knows that cholesterol is of two kinds. And at the same time it differs not only in its characteristics, but also in its effect on the person.

The liver is an important human body responsible for the production of cholesterol, which in the body exists as special compounds consisting of protein and fat. Such compounds are called lipoproteins, and they can be different in density.

High density lipoproteins are called useful cholesterol, because they help to form new cells, participate in the production of certain hormones, prevent various cardiovascular pathologies. It turns out that talking about the dangers of cholesterol is too early.

But there is another kind of cholesterol - low-density lipoproteins. It's about them that comes up when they talk about bad cholesterol. And it is considered bad because it is able to accumulate on the walls of blood vessels, gathering in groups and forming cholesterol plaques, which significantly reduce the lumen of blood vessels. This leads to a violation of blood circulation and stagnation in the vessels, which in turn entails an increase in blood pressure and the formation of thrombi, further reducing the internal diameter of the vessels. And everything would not be so sad if the blood clots did not come off and did not cause a complete blockage of blood vessels, which is fraught with life-threatening pathologies such as myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke, pulmonary embolism, etc.

Scientists on the basis of special studies conclude that harmful cholesterol, as one of the main risk factors for the development of various cardiovascular pathologies, in particular arteriosclerosis of blood vessels and arterial hypertension (persistently high blood pressure).

So far, we have talked about cholesterol, which is produced in our body. But the thing is that the liver produces only about 70 percent of this substance, the rest 30 percent of the person gets along with food, among which there are products that reduce cholesterol.

Read also:  Diet in high cholesterol

Yes, only blame products containing many lipoproteins, in raising harmful cholesterol, too, is not worth it. Some foods, such as fish and seafood, caviar and egg yolk, are famous for their high cholesterol content, but, using them, we are unlikely to note an increase in the level of low density lipoproteins in their bodies. The source of cholesterol in this case is the unsaturated fats Omega 3 and 6, essential for the human body. It is a useful cholesterol that participates in various physiological processes.

But fatty meat and fat, by-products and butter supply saturated fats to our body, which are a source of harmful cholesterol, from which dangerous plaques form on the walls of blood vessels.

In fear of the word "cholesterol" many patients of cardiac centers and people zealous for their health begin to avoid eating products containing cholesterol. However, people can not give up cholesterol completely.

In spite of the fact that bad cholesterol dissolves very little, but accumulates, it complicates the work of the heart and blood vessels, in limited quantities it is also necessary for the body. Do not forget that cholesterol, whatever it is, contains protein, which is the building material of a living cell. The protein is the basis of the cell membrane. But after all, our whole organism consists of cells, including muscles and blood vessels. So, cholesterol depends on the strength of the vascular walls, and maintaining the tone of the muscular system. It turns out that a lack of cholesterol can cause the same vascular pathologies (the vessels are weakened and can burst) and heart disease (weakness of the heart muscle is fraught with tissue damage under blood pressure).

The intake of saturated fats in the body depends on the correct work of the endocrine system, and in particular the thyroid gland. But here you need to know the measure. If a person adheres to a diet of 2 thousand kilocalories, the total amount of saturated fat entering the body should not be higher than 15-17 g. The rest of the cholesterol simply remains unused and will gradually be deposited on the walls of the vessels.

It turns out that cholesterol can not be unequivocally called an enemy or friend. Health and well-being of a person depends on whether he adheres to the norms of cholesterol, which the body needs for vital activity. Deprive your body of building material is simply stupid, it is wiser to adjust the balance of harmful and useful cholesterol by using food products, reducing the amount of the first, and increasing the intake of the second.

Read also:

• The most common treatments for high cholesterol
• Tablets from high cholesterol

[1], [2], [3], [4]

How to normalize cholesterol in the blood with products?

It must be understood that the amount of cholesterol produced by the body is constant. And the cholesterol that we receive from outside is considered to be a more or less stable quantity. Another thing is the ratio of harmful and useful cholesterol, which is capable of changing in one direction or another, depending on what products prevail on our table.

It is clear that to normalize the level of cholesterol in the blood can reduce to a minimum the use of foods that contain bad cholesterol. These products include fatty dairy products, butter, fatty meats, especially in fried form (and even unrefined sunflower oil), mayonnaise. In this list, you can make and popular in recent years, the additive - palm oil. It can be found in many sweets, meat semi-finished products, and fast-food items. By the way, palm milk is considered a rich source of harmful cholesterol.

As you can see, you can adjust your diet even without refusing your favorite dishes. For example, fatty roast meat can be replaced with boiled or baked lean, adding more favorite spices during cooking. Butter can be successfully replaced with refined sunflower or olive, which, incidentally, can successfully replace in mayonnaise salads. Refined oils do not affect the level of harmful cholesterol.

It is not necessary to refuse milk dishes either, just tilt the scales in the direction of products with a low content of milk fat. And as for lard, the use of a small piece of this symbol of true Ukrainians is unlikely to greatly weaken the balance of useful and harmful cholesterol in the blood towards the latter, especially if it is used together with products that reduce low-density cholesterol, which we will write below.

The hardest part is to part with "gifts" from hot countries, where palm trees grow, because palm oil is present in the majority of ready-to-eat foods and semi-finished products that we find on the shelves of our stores and supermarkets. But there is a way out. After all, various meat semi-finished products, appetizing hamburgers with a homemade cutlet or sausage, delicious and useful sweets from fruits and berries can be made on your own (a lot of recipes can be found on the Internet). Such dishes to taste will be no worse than shopping, but that's harmful palm oil, which increases cholesterol, they will not be in their composition.

Products that reduce cholesterol and cleansing vessels

It just so happened that some readers began to watch themselves excess weight, noticed that it began to fool around the heart, increased pressure and there were other symptoms indicating increased cholesterol in the blood. Even if they change their taste preferences taking into account our advice, and cholesterol will come back to normal, but what about the harmful cholesterol that has already firmly adhered to the walls of blood vessels, disrupting the normal flow of blood?

Apparently, in order to tidy up the entire blood system, you will not only have to minimize the use of foods that increase the lipoprotein content, but also love products that reduce cholesterol by destroying its harmful component and preventing the adherence of protein-fat compounds to the inner surface of the vessels. And such products, fortunately, a lot.

It is also important that all these products are truly curative, so including them in the diet will not only reduce cholesterol in the blood, improve the blood vessels, but also improve the performance of other organs and systems. Consider the most popular products that reduce cholesterol, and their beneficial effect on the body as a whole:

Carrot

This sunny fruit, which so caring mothers love so much to feed their babies, is able to fight furiously with harmful cholesterol and show tangible results. Only one month of active consumption of carrots (2 medium root vegetables a day) makes it possible to reduce the level of bad cholesterol in blood and on the walls of blood vessels by almost 7.5%. This property is possessed by all vegetables and fruits with a high content of pectin.

[5], [6], [7], [8]

Broccoli

Broccoli is rich in vitamins C and K, as well as folic acid. What a wonderful tandem: cranberry, which contains a lot of iron, and broccoli with rich stocks of folic acid, which helps the iron to be absorbed in the body! But there is a small nuance in the storage of the product - in the freezing it saves a lot more useful substances for a long time.

[9], [10], [11], [12]

Red tomatoes

Well, this red vegetable does not take away popularity, because it is an ornament of both a festive and a casual table, and juice from ripe tomatoes is used in the preparation of many dishes and is used as a healthy drink. The scarlet color of tomatoes is due to a special substance - a lobster, which just destroys bad cholesterol. Drinking 2 cups of tomato juice, we reduce cholesterol by almost 10%.

By the way, the same pigment in spinach is useful for the elderly, because it prevents age-related deterioration of eyesight.

Garlic

This burning vegetable is known to many as an effective prevention of colds and viral pathologies. But not everyone knows that garlic effectively cleans vessels. The smell and noticeable sharpness of garlic is given by a special substance - alliin, which, reacting with oxygen when the vegetable is crushed, is converted to allicin. It is the latter and is able to control the level of harmful cholesterol, clean the vessels and thereby reduce blood pressure in hypertension.

However, because of the high caloric content, it is not worth using this fruit.

Nuts (especially almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, cedar nuts)

Due to the fact that nuts are high in calories, they are not recommended to eat more than 60 grams per day. But even such a portion with a regular intake during the month can reduce the level of harmful cholesterol by 7.5%.

Legumes are useful not only for blood vessels. They contain antioxidants that actively fight the aging of the body, and B vitamins that optimize the work of the nervous system.

Whole grains and bran

They, like nuts and beans, are important sources of fiber, which means. Cereals and bran can also be attributed to products that reduce cholesterol. Among other things, they are also able to stabilize blood glucose levels, which is very useful for patients with diabetes mellitus.

Rich in Omega-3 are salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, and also quite affordable for many fish, herring.

Red grape wine

It turns out quite a lot of fiber is found even in liquid dishes, such as an intoxicating drink of rich burgundy color. Wine from red grape varieties is recognized as beneficial to the body even by doctors. They have no doubt that red wine can reduce the level of bad cholesterol. And the higher the level of cholesterol, the more active wine acts on it.

According to the research of American scientists, the use of black tea reduces the level of harmful cholesterol in the blood by almost 10%. And this is for only 3 weeks of the experiment. Do not lag behind black tea and green, rich in flavonoids and catechins, thanks to which the body more actively absorbs cholesterol, contributing to the purification of blood vessels from it.

Condiments & Spices

We have already told you about the benefits of garlic, but this is not the only spice product that can reduce cholesterol in the blood. For example, turmeric, considered the strongest antioxidant, also actively cleanses vessels from cholesterol deposits. Prevents the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the lumen of the vessels and cinnamon by reducing the amount of blood lipids and reducing the level of bad cholesterol.

Do not forget about margarines. Maybe this product is not considered particularly useful for the body, but its high quality varieties with a high content of plant sterols also slightly reduce harmful cholesterol in the blood.

In addition to the above products, the property of reducing cholesterol is:

• vegetables (cabbage, potatoes, aubergines, melon)
• many fruits (apples, plums, apricots, and also overseas guests: bananas, pineapples, kiwi, oranges, pomegranate)
• berries (strawberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries, grapes, hawthorn, chokeberry, etc.)
• seeds (flax seed, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin)
• greens (dill, parsley, green onions, leeks, artichoke, salad)

Cholesterol and pressure

Hypertension, or stably high blood pressure, is truly a scourge of our time. This pathology affects the elderly, and very young people. The causes of the disease can be different. But for some reason, people with high blood pressure doctors are primarily advised to pay attention to blood cholesterol?

There is no surprise in this, after all, settling on the walls of blood vessels, bad cholesterol reduces their clearance. But after all, the supply of blood from the heart does not decrease, but only the blood pressure on the walls of the arteries increases, which causes a significant deterioration in the patients' well-being.

It is enough to use such products to stabilize blood pressure,  products that reduce blood pressure and cholesterol  by preventing sedimentation of the latter on the walls of blood vessels. In principle, all of the above products will be useful in hypertension, because they all actively clean the blood vessels. But there are also such products, which should be given special attention.

[13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18]

Orange juice

It is not only delicious, but also incredibly useful drink of sunny color with a rich content of vitamin C, which contributes to the dilution of blood and lowering blood pressure. And the oranges themselves also belong to the category of products that reduce cholesterol (although they themselves do not contain it at all). This complex effect on the body allows orange juice to effectively stabilize the pressure with the regular use of only 2 glasses of freshly squeezed juice per day.

Watermelon

The content of this huge berry amino acid L-sitrulin makes it very useful in reducing blood pressure due to vasodilation. The thing is that the above-named amino acid stimulates the production of nitric acid in the body, which increases the lumen of blood vessels.

Chocolate

This is really a heart-healthy product that is considered an excellent antioxidant. It is advisable to give preference to dark chocolate, which is more effective than milk, raises the level of healthy cholesterol and prevents clumping of blood cells, resulting in dangerous junctions in blood vessels - blood clots.

[19], [20]

Green tea with honey and lemon

In a truly divine drink, able to contain normal blood pressure. Tea helps to cleanse the vessels of cholesterol, and vitamin C from the lemon makes the blood less viscous, and it moves more easily through the capillaries. As for honey, it is a storehouse of useful substances that help the health of the whole organism.

But during the preparation of a healing drink, we should not forget that honey and lemon are added to the cooled tea, so that they do not lose their useful properties and do not acquire carcinogenic. For those diagnosed with an allergy to bee products, the addition of honey to tea is unacceptable. Although even without honey, tea with lemon will remain a very useful drink with hypertension.

Of those products that we mentioned above, with high pressure, preference should be given to high-speed natural. "Medicines". Let's  see what products reduce cholesterol in the blood quickly, which allows them to be used to effectively lower blood pressure in a short time.

Almond Walnut

To reduce blood pressure, you only need to take a raw nut. Almonds processed at temperature or with the help of chemicals do not have the same properties as raw. In raw almonds contains a large number of monounsaturated acids, and therefore the use of every day for 1 handful of peeled almonds is able to maintain normal blood pressure, to fight inflammatory pathologies and the dominance of cholesterol in the vessels.

[21], [22]

Turmeric

Contained in its root curcumin effectively fights with various inflammatory phenomena in the body, reduces the pressure and concentration of harmful cholesterol in the blood. Adding a spice little by little in different dishes can give them not only a bright color, but also increase the use of their use.

Garlic

He who has increased blood pressure and does not like garlic needs to urgently reconsider his views on this useful spice, because it is one of the best means for rapidly reducing cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Spinach

This low-calorie vegetable contains all the necessary substances to maintain a normal cardiovascular system. Adding it to omelets, salads and sandwiches can forget what high blood pressure is.

Sunflower seeds

Who among us does not like to enjoy gratifying sunflowers for a pleasant conversation or watching television? But how can it be without them? That's right, do not limit yourself to small pleasures, especially if they are able to keep your blood pressure in the norm. An important point: you can consume sunflower seeds in a raw and fried form, but you do not need to salt them, because the salt can have the opposite effect.

Give a little more attention to the chocolate. Many people, hearing about the fact that dark chocolate can reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, can rush to immediately test a new medicine. Do not rush to eat a delicious chocolate bar piece by piece.

This is a fairly high-calorie product, you need to use it very carefully. Overdo it with the dose and get the opposite effect. But that small allowed dose of 30 kcal is unlikely to quickly reduce blood pressure (unless with regular admission for 3-4 months). Much faster effect can be obtained by eating unsweetened cocoa, because the hypotonic effect of dark chocolate is based on this component.

Products that reduce cholesterol are not uncommon on our table. We just did not know yet how useful they are for cleaning vessels from harmful cholesterol and normalizing blood pressure. But live, learn. Now you can successfully apply your knowledge in the compilation of a diet so that you do not have problems with the heart or the vessels in the future.