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Lowering Your Cholesterol Through Healthy Eating

July 31, 2017

Receiving a high cholesterol diagnosis is scary and is typically a sign of health issues to come. Should you hit a bump with your cholesterol, there’s still time to reverse your numbers and return to a healthy lifestyle. How do you lower high cholesterol? The answer is eating the right foods.

Family Medicine Physician Candice Shah, MD, says that while there’s a genetic aspect to cholesterol – our bodies make it – food actually plays an important part, too. High cholesterol can deposit in the walls of arteries, causing plaque. This makes it more difficult to get blood supply to all of the body’s organs. “Our food intake is largely responsible for elevated cholesterol levels for most people because they have a poor diet and don’t even realize it,” Dr. Shah says.

When it comes to lowering cholesterol levels, Dr. Shah recommends several tactics:

  • Reduce saturated fat and eliminate trans fats.
  • Increase intake of soluble fiber.
  • Follow a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables and legumes.
  • Choose olive oil in place of other oils.
  • Eat whole grains.
  • Limit processed foods. 
  • Eat fish.

Dr. Shah notes it’s important to stay away from fried foods, fatty animal products, processed foods, sugar-containing foods, and high-fat containing foods. This includes avoiding artificial sweeteners and high-sugar beverages. Snacking should be limited but if you feel the need for a snack, Dr. Shah recommends almonds or walnuts, low fat cheese, raw fruits and vegetables, roasted chickpeas, and avocado.

As for cooking, she recommends eating a lot of salads, and using vegetables, whole grains, lentils/beans, flax seeds/hemp seeds, chia seeds, or nuts. Dr. Shah also suggests making your own salad dressing and not using store made dressings as they have a lot of ingredients that are unhealthy. Grilled vegetables seasoned with pepper and olive oil make a great base for many foods.

“I think eating foods as close to their natural state as possible is a good way to look at a diet,” Dr. Shah says. “Look at food labels and avoid things that have a long ingredient list. Cook at home. Eat out and on the go less. Pack your lunch instead of grabbing food out. These are some of the many ways you can help your body,” Dr. Shah said.

If you’re in need of a physician, find one at Bayhealth.org/Physicians or call 1-866-BAY-DOCS (3627).

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