Health Zone: Best foods to reduce cholesterol

According to the American Heart Association, ‘You can reduce cholesterol in your blood by eating healthy foods’. So here are list of top cholesterol fighting foods:

Oats: If you change your morning meal to oats then you can do your cholesterol level a whole lot of good. Do note that two servings of oats can lower LDL cholesterol by 5.3 per cent in only six weeks. Essentially, oats contain a substance called beta-glucan which absorbs bad cholesterol.

Red wine: Here’s yet another reason to toast to your health. The red grapes used in the manufacturing of red wine have an important effect on cholesterol levels. Two glasses of red wine in a week can do you a whole lot of good.

Salmon and fatty Fish: Full of Omega-3 fatty acids, salmon is a natural health wonder, which helps in keeping heart conditions such as heart attacks, stroke and high cholesterol levels at bay. Fishes such as salmon, sardines and herring help in raising good cholesterol levels by four per cent.

Nuts: Mono-unsaturated fats (found in nuts, seeds etc.) have the lowest fatty acid molecules and are the best of the three fats, namely poly-saturated fats, saturated fats and mono-unsaturated fats. Nuts are the best way to get those required healthy fats into your body without feeling guilty. Since the fats that come from nuts are natural and are not chemically processed, this makes them heart healthy, filling, and nutritious options.

Beans: Excellent for the heart, ½ a cup of beans added in our diet (in the form of any dish or soup), helps in lowering cholesterol levels by eight per cent. You should try black, kidney, or pinto beans; each one of them supplies about one-third of your day’s fiber needs.

– Times of India