Tips for eating to lower your cholesterol
(WJBK) - September is National Cholesterol Education Month. According to a recent study, nearly 71 million American adults have high cholesterol, putting them at risk for heart disease -- which is the leading cause of death in the United States.
Our bodies create some cholesterol on their own, but we get too much from animal-based food, such as full fat dairy and meat. Unfortunately, high cholesterol doesn't have any symptoms, so many people don't know that their cholesterol is too high unless they see a doctor.
When we have too much, it builds up in our arteries which can lead to a heart attack or a stroke.
Foods to eat more of to help lower cholesterol include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, chickpeas and lentils. Foods that should be limited to help keep cholesterol levels low are butter, fatty foods and the skin on chicken.
Sadie Beeler, dietitian from Westland Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, joined us on The Nine to show us a heart-healthy recipe, a red quinoa black bean vegetable salad.
Some of the main ingredients in this salad that can lower your cholesterol are:
- Black beans, which consists of fiber that slows the rate and amount of absorption of cholesterol in certain foods
- Garlic, which has been found to prevent blood clots and help stop cholesterol particles from sticking to your artery walls
- Olive oil that consists of heart-healthy fatty acids that lower your cholesterol
- Avocados, which can help raise HDL (good) cholesterol while simultaneously lowering your LDL (bad) cholesterol
You can hear more from her about a haert-healthy diet in the video player above.