Changing your eating habits and selecting particular foods for lower cholesterol is actually quite effective in actually lowering your cholesterol. But this is a big change. Changing your lifestyle in one fell swoop is most likely not going to be easy or successful.
The key to lifestyle change is to do it in a stepwise manner. Making intelligent choices and selecting different foods of the same type that are healthy is a very easy way to make an impact but without make a drastic change in your daily eating habits.
Now, if you are a big time snacker then change may not be as easy. Chips and french fries must no longer be apart of your day. Anything deep fried like donuts, or even cakes and store bought cookies are trouble. Products with partially hydrogenated oil (or trans-fats ) are especially troublesome.
However, even snack foods can be found that are not dangerous to your cholesterol levels. There are fruit bars for example that have neither sugar nor fat and are actually quite tasty and filling. I don’t find it terribly convenient to carry fresh fruit everywhere I go, but a prepackaged fruit bar is easy to travel with in your jacket pocket or briefcase.
There are foods that will actually help bring down your cholesterol levels, the bad stuff of LDL, to a less dangerous level. These foods are not necessarily a magic bullet, but can often reduced or eliminate the need for cholesterol lowering medications.
Take for example our smelly friend garlic. Garlic, is a very powerful cholesterol buster. It’s properties are well document, in fact a garlic supplement is considered a drug in Germany, it’s that powerful. Of course, a change like this you would want to discuss with your doctor first. Something that powerful could react with your cholesterol lower medications if you have any.
Walnuts and other nuts are a source of cholesterol busting goodness as well. You have to be careful because these sorts of nuts tend to be high calories. While the fat that is contained in them is the “good fat”, it’s still fat and therefore can still turn to fat deposits on your body. Eat in moderation as a substitute for your morning or afternoon snack. No more than a handful.
You’ve heard the old saying, “An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away” – well in this it can help keep the heart surgeon away. Apples have a host of positive health benefits, not the least of which is contributing to good cholesterol health. Make sure to add a couple of these to your daily dietary requirements. They are nothing but good.