Lowering Cholesterol Naturally

Avoiding foods high in cholesterol is one way of naturally lowering cholesterol.  You might have questions, though – like what are some foods with high cholesterol?  Is it safe to eat these foods at all – or is just limiting them enough?  And what about cholesterol in eggs –you hear one day that they are “cholesterol bombs” and the next day that they are good for you.

What is the truth behind these foods?  Let’s take a look at these foods that are high in cholesterol.

Overview of the Kinds of Cholesterol

Here’s a quickie overview of the two main kinds of cholesterol that you need to know about.  The first is LDL (low-density lipoprotein), also known as “bad cholesterol”.  The other is HDL (high-density lipoprotein), also known as “good cholesterol”.  The easy way to remember this is that you want LDL to be “low” and HDL to be “high”.  Here’s where you can learn more about blood cholesterol levels.

Foods High in Cholesterol

You know that eating a healthy diet is important, and that includes either limiting or avoiding some foods entirely.  Here are some foods high in cholesterol you want to totally avoid.

• Saturated fat (with the exception of coconut oil).
• Trans fatty acids – a.k.a. trans fats.
• Hydrogenated oils.

Both of the above foods spell trouble, especially the trans fats.  You may be wondering about the coconut oil – it’s a naturally saturated oil that actually has healthful properties, because of the way the molecule is set up.

Now that you know what to avoid, here are some other foods high in cholesterol that can be enjoyed in limited quantities.

• Eggs; the yolks are high in cholesterol, true, but there are other nutrients that mitigate the effects.
• Skim milk cheeses; these have almost all of the milk fats removed. 
• Ice cream and other whole-milk foods.  Learn to read the labels and choose brands without saturated fats.
• Shrimp; while shrimp are really high in cholesterol, you probably don’t have them as a regular part of your weekly diet.
• Lobster; same as shrimp – high in cholestrol, but you likely don’t have it often.
• Beef, lamb and pork; each of these contain saturated fats.  Your best bet is to remove all the obvious fat from your meat.  You should also choose leaner cuts of meat.

You probably eat quite a few of these foods as part of a daily diet.  So what can you do about it, aside from becoming a vegetarian?

For one, you can eat some foods to lower cholesterol; you mught be surprised at what yummy foods end up on this list!  By eating these, you’re helping your body to balance itself.

Another option is the niacin cholesterol link.  You’d be surprised at how much good that niacin can do for your blood cholesterol levels – and it’s a vitamin you need for good health anyway!

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