Out with the "bad"
cholesterol and in with the "good."
February
is Heart Health month, and for many Americans, that means focusing on ways to
lower your risk of heart disease — the number one killer among both men and
women. And about half of all adults in American have cholesterol levels that
are too high — which means there’s a good chance yours are. If you haven’t had
them checked lately, don’t ignore it any longer.
Cholesterol, the
naturally occurring waxy substance produced by your body, isn’t a bad thing —
unless you have too much of the bad kind. Then it contributes to the formation
of artery-clogging plaque, increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Bad kind? That’s
right. You have two main types of cholesterol: Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL
(the “bad” cholesterol), and high-density lipoprotein, or HDL (the “good”
cholesterol). LDL carries cholesterol into your arteries, and HDL carries it
away to your liver. Needless to say, the less LDL and the more HDL you have the
better. Beyond that basic fact, other details matter too, like the size of your
LDL particles. Smaller, denser LDL particles are more dangerous because it’s
easier for them to burrow into artery walls.
If you have high
cholesterol, your doctor may put you on cholesterol-lowering medication. But
even if he does, pay special attention to the tips in this article. Because
research suggests that by eating the right foods, getting enough exercise, and
generally taking good care of yourself, you could slash your risk of dying from
heart disease by an incredible 80 percent.
1. Drink two glasses of orange juice every morning. But make it Minute Maid’s Heart
Wise or another brand spiked with the same kind of cholesterol-lowering plant
sterols found in margarine spreads like Benecol. When researchers at the
University of California-Davis asked 72 men and women with mildly high
cholesterol to drink either Heart Wise or regular OJ, those drinking the
sterol-fortified juice found their total cholesterol levels dropped 7 percent
(an average of 13 points) and levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol dropped 13
percent (an average of 8 points). Those who drank regular juice had no changes.
But maybe they weren’t drinking enough: Another study, this one from the
University of Western Ontario, found that three glasses a day of orange juice —
any orange juice — for four weeks raised HDL levels 21 percent and improved the
ratio of good to bad cholesterol by 16 percent.
2. Eat six or more small meals a day. A large study of British adults
found that people who ate six or more times a day had significantly lower cholesterol
than those who ate twice a day, even though the “grazers” got more calories and
fat! In fact, the differences in cholesterol between the two groups were large
enough to reduce the grazers’ risk of coronary heart disease 10-20 percent.
Just make sure those six meals are truly small.
3. Quaff a glass of wine every evening with dinner. Studies find a daily glass of
wine or beer a day can boost levels of HDL cholesterol. Make the wine a red one
— red wines are 3-10 times higher in plant compounds called saponins believed
to be responsible for much of wine’s beneficial effects on cholesterol.
4. Fix all your sandwiches on whole grain bread. Simply cutting back on simple
carbs like white bread and eating more complex carbs, like whole grain bread
and brown rice, can increase HDL levels slightly and significantly lower
triglycerides, another type of blood fat that contributes to heart disease.
5. Use paper filters when brewing your coffee and skip the
espresso. Two
substances found in brewed coffee, kahweol and cafestol, increase cholesterol
levels. But paper filters trap these compounds, so they’re only a problem if
you drink espresso or use coffeemakers without filters.
6. Use olive oil in your homemade salad dressing tonight. A Baylor College of Medicine study
found that diets rich in the kind of monounsaturated fat found in olive oil
reduced LDL cholesterol in people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome — a
cluster of risk factors including low HDL, high insulin levels, and overweight
— just as well as following a low-fat diet.
7. Sip a cup of black tea every four hours. Government scientists found that
three weeks of drinking five cups a day of black tea reduced cholesterol levels
in people with mildly high levels.
8. Add half a tablespoon of cinnamon to your coffee beans (ground or whole) before starting
the pot. A Pakistani study found that 6 grams cinnamon a day (about 1/2
tablespoon) reduced LDL cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes nearly 30
percent and cut total cholesterol 26 percent.
9. Have oatmeal for breakfast every morning. There’s a reason oat
manufacturers are allowed to boast about the grain’s cholesterol-lowering
benefits: Plenty of research has proved them. Rich in a soluble fiber called
beta glucan, oatmeal can drop your LDL 12-24 percent if you eat 1 1/2 cups
regularly. Choose quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats over instant.
10. This week, have a few glasses of cranberry juice every day (cut it with seltzer or water so
you get less sugar). Cranberries are rich sources of anthocyanins, flavonols,
and proanthocyanidins, plant chemicals that prevent LDL cholesterol from
oxidizing, a process that makes it more likely to stick to artery walls. These
chemicals also keep red blood cells from getting too sticky. An added bonus:
They initiate a complex chemical reaction that helps blood vessels relax. Plus
(the part you were waiting for) they decrease LDL cholesterol levels. Not only
that, but University of Scranton researchers reported that three glasses of
cranberry juice a day can raise HDL levels up to 10 percent.
11.
Eat a grapefruit every other day. Grapefruits are particularly
high in pectin, a soluble fiber that can help reduce cholesterol levels.
Grapefruits interfere with the absorption of several medications, however, so
check with your doctor first. Other good sources of pectin include apples and
berries.
12. Use honey in your tea instead of sugar, and honey instead of
jam on PB&J sandwiches. A study from Dubai
in the United Arab Emirates
13. Pop edamame as a snack. Just half a cup contains nearly
4 grams fiber, not to mention the soy isoflavones in these soybeans.
Consumption of both has been linked to lower cholesterol. Edamame are now
available in the frozen food section of the supermarket.
14. Pour soy milk over your morning cereal. A Spanish study of 40 men and
women found that those who drank about two cups of soy milk a day for three
months reduced their LDL cholesterol levels an average of eight points and
increased their HDL levels an average of four points. Just make sure you buy
soy milk fortified with calcium.
15. Whip up a batch of guacamole this evening. Several studies find that eating
one avocado a day as part of a healthy diet can lower your LDL as much as 17
percent while raising your HDL.
16. Spend 10 minutes a day doing strength-training exercises. You don’t have to do these at a
gym — push-ups, squats, leg lifts, hip extensions — they all count. And they
count when it comes time to count your cholesterol levels: A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that strength training lowered total
cholesterol 10 percent and LDL cholesterol 14 percent among women who worked
out for 45-50 minutes three times a week. If you can’t manage that amount,
start with 10 minutes a day, six days a week, and gradually work up.
17. Have a glass of purple grape juice every day. Rich in cholesterol-lowering
flavonoids, grape juice is the perfect drink, particularly if you don’t like
red wine.
18. Spread your bagel with Benecol, not butter. This cholesterol-lowering spread contains
sterols, natural plant compounds that block your body’s absorption of the
cholesterol in the foods you eat.
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