The Mayo Clinic had some great information on this!
1) Eat soluble fiber: at least 10 grams per day.
* If you eat 20% of your calories from walnuts, you may reduce your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) by 12%! 20% of calories from walnuts is only about 2 ounces
2) Eat foods fortified with plant sterols, and reduce your LDL by 10%! Some orange juice, margarine and yogurts are fortified, and would only need 8 ounces a day to see the (up to) 10% decrease in LDL.
3) Omega-3 was already mentioned: found in fish, as well as ground flaxseed and extra virgin olive oil.
4) Lower intake of saturated fat, especially trans fat (found in store bought cookies, cakes and crackers). Trans fat is a double-whammy: increases "bad" LDL and decreases "good" HDL!
You may want to avoid egg yolks during the 2 week period, and stick with egg whites only. If you drink 1% or 2% milk, try drinking skim milk.
Exercise is good, but only moderately helps cholesterol...diet is more important!
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The Mayo Clinic had some great information on this!
1) Eat soluble fiber: at least 10 grams per day.
* If you eat 20% of your calories from walnuts, you may reduce your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) by 12%! 20% of calories from walnuts is only about 2 ounces
Other soluble fiber foods: kidney beans, apple, pears, barley, cooked oatmeal, oat bran
2) Eat foods fortified with plant sterols, and reduce your LDL by 10%! Some orange juice, margarine and yogurts are fortified, and would only need 8 ounces a day to see the (up to) 10% decrease in LDL.
3) Omega-3 was already mentioned: found in fish, as well as ground flaxseed and extra virgin olive oil.
4) Lower intake of saturated fat, especially trans fat (found in store bought cookies, cakes and crackers). Trans fat is a double-whammy: increases "bad" LDL and decreases "good" HDL!
You may want to avoid egg yolks during the 2 week period, and stick with egg whites only. If you drink 1% or 2% milk, try drinking skim milk.
Exercise is good, but only moderately helps cholesterol...diet is more important!
February 1, 2009 - 8:47pmThis Comment
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