Best Foods To Eat To Lower Cholesterol And Triglycerides

Exercising To Lower Triglycerides

Best Foods For Lowering Your Cholesterol and Triglycerides Quickly

Summary

While nutrition probably has the most significant impact on triglycerides, exercise can also lower your levels. But not all forms of exercise produce equally promising results.

When it comes to lowering triglycerides, higher intensity exercise is best.34

There are different ways to define high-intensity exercise. The most common is achieving greater than 85% of your maximum heart rate. However, a more useful definition may be a level of exercise where you can no longer have a conversation or a level you can maintain for only a few minutes.

Resistance training, involving a moderate amount of weight and high repetitions, can also help with triglyceride levels. Lifting extra heavy weight fewer times produces less of a significant effect.35

Does this mean lower intensity exercise doesnt provide health benefits? Of course not. As we detail in our in-depth exercise guide, physical activity of any kind has multiple health benefits.

Even if you cant get to the point where exercise impacts your triglycerides, dont let that discourage you. Carry on to maintain your muscles, strengthen your bones, and build your fitness one step at a time.

Will A Keto Diet Lower Triglycerides And Cholesterol

No, keto diets have been shown to increase cholesterol levels. The Mediterranean diet, however, has been shown to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiac events.

The Mediterranean diet promotes eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats daily eating fish, poultry, beans, and eggs weekly reducing portions of dairy and limiting red meat.

How To Know If Your Triglyceride Levels Are Optimal

All you have to do is set up an appointment with your doctor to get a standard blood test done. Ask your doctor to print the results for you, and track your progress at after appointment.

According to the American Heart Association, these are the triglyceride level ranges:

Optimal
Very high	500 mg/dL or higher

Aim for optimal triglyceride levels, but dont forget about cholesterol and blood sugar levels as well.

To see if you have healthier cholesterol levels, check your total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio. A ratio between 3 and 4 indicates that you have healthy cholesterol levels and are at a substantially reduced risk of heart disease. When it comes to blood sugar, your fasting blood sugar levels should be below 100 mg/dl.

It is also important to take note of your posture before you get your blood drawn. For example, different positions, like sitting, standing, and laying down, can cause triglycerides to vary significantly. Because of this, the American Heart Association recommends that you sit for at least 5 minutes in the same position each time you get your blood drawn to minimize variability in triglyceride measurements.

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What Causes High Cholesterol & How To Lower It:

High cholesterol can be caused by several factorsincluding family history. Lack of exercise, being overweight, an unhealthy diet , plus smoking can all play a role in raising your cholesterol. According to the CDC, a total cholesterol of over 200 mg/dL is considered high. However, there are no symptoms of high cholesterol, so be sure to have a discussion with your medical provider about getting your levels checked. Although high cholesterol doesn’t have symptoms, side effects of high cholesterol include heart attack and stroke, so it’s important to practice prevention and discuss your risk factors at your annual visit.

To reduce risk, there are several lifestyle changes we can make, like increasing exercise and focusing on a diet that is high in fiber and healthy unsaturated fats , while limiting excess sugar and saturated or trans fats. Plus, losing weight if you’re overweight can positively improve your cholesterol, so we set this plan at 1,500 calories, which is a level where most people will lose weight. We also included modifications for 1,200 or 2,000 calories a day, depending on your needs.

Eat More Medium Chain Triglycerides

Yes, you read that correctly. To improve health and triglyceride levels, you should consume more triglycerides. But make sure they are the medium-chain kind of triglyceride.

MCTs are different from the long chain triglycerides that we commonly find in dairy and meat because they skip the normal process of fat digestion and go straight to the liver. In the liver, the MCTs are often converted into ketones for fuel.

For this reason, many studies have found MCTs to increase weight loss when compared to other healthy fats like olive oil. Believe it or not, MCTs also have been found to decrease triglycerides more than olive oil as well.

Coconut oil is the best natural source of MCTs . However, if you need an unmistakable energy boost that eliminates your cravings right away, then supplement with pure MCT oil. Blend it into your morning coffee or keto pumpkin spice latte or use it as the oil for your salad dressings.

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What To Look Out For When Shopping For Foods To Lower Cholesterol:

When grocery shopping, there are foods youll want to focus on and foods to avoid to lower your cholesterol. To lower your cholesterol, focus on foods high in fiber like canned or dried beans or lentils, fruits and vegetables , as well as whole grains like quinoa, oatmeal, brown rice and whole-wheat bread. Other healthy options to focus on include those foods high in unsaturated fats like nuts and seedsincluding chia and flax, as well as olive oil, avocado and foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon. These healthy fats help raise your good HDL cholesterol which protects your heart. Some other foods you can eat that may surprise youeggs and shrimp. Although traditionally avoided because theyre high in dietary cholesterol, theres not a lot of evidence that cholesterol in foods actually raises our bodys cholesterol, so feel free to include these foods in your healthy diet plan.

To identify trans fats, look at the ingredient list and try to avoid foods that say hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats. Youll often find them in processed foods, especially processed baked goods, as well as some peanut butters, so try to opt for a natural peanut butter that contains just two ingredients: peanuts and salt.

What Not To Eat: Foods That Raise Cholesterol

Whether you have high cholesterol that needs to be lowered or you simply want to maintain an already-healthy cholesterol level, avoiding certain foods can help.

Any food that contains saturated fat is a no-no for a cholesterol-lowering diet. Trans fats are equally as bad, if not worse. Trans fats are a double whammy they raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol, Featherstun says.

Here are some specific types of food to avoid:

Anything fried Youd be hard-pressed to walk into a restaurant in the United States and not find a deep fryer. But if youre on a cholesterol-lowering diet, take a pass on the greasy stuff. Not only does deep frying cause foods to lose water and suck up fat, making them more calorie dense, but the oils that foods are fried in are often high in trans fats, the worst offenders.

If you cant bear the thought of never eating another crunchy onion ring, consider using olive or sunflower oil when frying. In a study published in January 2012 in The BMJ, researchers in Spain, where olive and sunflower oils are used for frying, found that eating fried foods was not associated with increased rates of heart disease like it is in countries where saturated fats, like lard and butter, are used. Just be sure not to heat these oils past their smoke point the temperature at which an oil starts to burn.

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What Is A Healthy Cholesterol Level

According to the NHLBI, your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes, increases if you have an HDL cholesterol level of 40 milligrams per deciliter or less for men and 50 mg/dL or less for women. The institute recommends that total daily cholesterol intake be less than 200 mg/dL, and that LDL cholesterol be less than 100 mg/dL.

Change Your Diet To Reduce Triglycerides

7 Ways to Lower Your Triglycerides and Cholesterol With Lifestyle Changes

Follow these dietary guidelines to reduce your triglycerides:

Choose unsaturated fats Reduce your intake of saturated fats by eating less red meat and less full-fat dairy.
Reduce total fat intake Get no more than 30 percent of your calories from fat.
Eat less sugar Cut down on table sugar, syrup, sweets, and sugary drinks.
Go for complex carbohydrates Substitute whole grains for refined grains like white bread and white rice.
Cut back on alcohol If you drink, talk to your doctor about safe amounts.

Also Check: What Is Bad For Cholesterol

What Are The Risks Of Having High Triglycerides

High triglyceride levels often go along with high cholesterol and come with the same elevated risk of chronic health problems. In fact, a high triglyceride level is one of the criteria for metabolic syndrome, a combination of health issues that leads to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Meals For People With Diabetes And High Cholesterol

The risk of heart disease is two to four times greater for people with diabetes. High blood cholesterol levels also increase your risk of heart disease. A healthy diet that includes nutritious foods in moderate amounts can help you control your blood sugars for diabetes and reduce your blood cholesterol levels.

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Saturated And Trans Fats

Saturated fats can raise triglyceride levels. They can be found in fried foods, red meat, chicken skin, egg yolks, high-fat dairy, butter, lard, shortening, margarine, and fast food. Alternatives include:

Lean proteins such as skinless white chicken meat and fish

Pastries, pies, cookies, and cakes

Starchy foods can also raise triglycerides. Try to choose foods with 100% whole grains and opt for long-grain rice instead of instant rice. If possible, eat non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, instead of starchy ones like potatoes.

You Can Begin To Reduce Your Bad Ldl Cholesterol Naturally By Making A Few Simple Changes In Your Diet

If your cholesterol is creeping upward, your doctor has probably told you that diet and exercisethe traditional cornerstones of heart healthcould help to bring it down. And if you’d prefer to make just one change at a time to lower your cholesterol naturally, you might want to begin with your diet. A major analysis of several controlled trials involving hundreds of men and women found that dietary changes reduced LDL and total cholesterol while exercise alone had no effect on either.

The people in the studies followed a variety of diets, from Mediterranean to low-fat to low-calorie. However, the most effective diets substituted foods with the power to lower cholesterol for those that boost cholesterol. According to Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, eating with your LDL in mind doesn’t have to be an exercise in self-deprivation. While you may have to say goodbye to a few snacks and fast foods, you can replace them with others that are equally satisfying. “You don’t have to follow an all-or-nothing approach. It’s really a matter of common sense,” she says. She suggests a few ways to start getting your cholesterol under control and keep it normal.

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What About The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is an eating plan that improves cholesterol and lowers your risk of dying early. A big change for most people is to use olive oil instead of other fats and oils. Other parts of the Mediterranean diet include:

Eating less red meat, dairy products, eggs, and poultry
Eating more fish, tree nuts, vegetables, and whole grains
Drinking wine in moderation.

Use Liquid Vegetable Oils In Place Of Solid Fats

Liquid vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower, soybean and olive oil can often be used instead of solid fats, such as butter, lard or shortening. If you must use margarine, try the soft or liquid kind.

Use a little liquid oil to:

Pan-fry fish and poultry.
Make cream sauces and soups using low-fat or fat-free milk.
Add to whipped or scalloped potatoes using low-fat or fat-free milk.
Brown rice for Spanish, curried or stir-fried rice.
Cook dehydrated potatoes and other prepared foods that call for fat to be added.
Make pancakes or waffles.

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Add These Foods To Lower Ldl Cholesterol

Different foods lower cholesterol in various ways. Some deliver soluble fiber, which binds cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive system and drags them out of the body before they get into circulation. Some give you polyunsaturated fats, which directly lower LDL. And some contain plant sterols and stanols, which block the body from absorbing cholesterol.

1. Oats. An easy first step to lowering your cholesterol is having a bowl of oatmeal or cold oat-based cereal like Cheerios for breakfast. It gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. Add a banana or some strawberries for another half-gram. Current nutrition guidelines recommend getting 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day, with at least 5 to 10 grams coming from soluble fiber.

2. Barley and other whole grains. Like oats and oat bran, barley and other whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease, mainly via the soluble fiber they deliver.

3. Beans. Beans are especially rich in soluble fiber. They also take a while for the body to digest, meaning you feel full for longer after a meal. That’s one reason beans are a useful food for folks trying to lose weight. With so many choices from navy and kidney beans to lentils, garbanzos, black-eyed peas, and beyond and so many ways to prepare them, beans are a very versatile food.

4. Eggplant and okra. These two low-calorie vegetables are good sources of soluble fiber.

Eat Your Biggest Meals Earlier In The Day

Foods That Lower Cholesterol.

To manage blood fat levels, it may be beneficial for you to eat your biggest meals earlier in the day and reserve smaller meals for later.

A study involving shift workers found that those who ate larger meals later in the day had a higher risk of heart disease, and one of the potential links was higher post-meal triglyceride levels.

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Things To Add To Your Diet For Lower Cholesterol

Nearly one in eight American adults have high levels of total cholesterol, reports the CDC. We tend to see it a lot more in the young-adult population than youd expect,Gina Curry MD, of Group Health, says.

While you may be tempted to ask your doctor for a cholesterol-lowering prescription, she suggests making a few dietary changes, first.

You Are Cutting Out All Carbs

One common step thatâs taken to bring down your triglycerides is to reduce your calorie intake by cutting back on carbohydrates, such as simple carbs found in sodas, juices and sweetened beverages, and refined carbs, which are found in white bread, white pasta and snack products.

This can be a helpful approach: eating too many carbs could contribute to higher triglyceride levels, and cutting back would be one strategy to lower them. However, it is not necessary to cut out all forms of carbs, including those found in whole grains. Whole grains are full of types of fiber and nutrients that work together to benefit your health. Soluble fiber is a type of dietary fiber present in whole grains, vegetables and fruits that slows digestion by attracting water and forming a gel. This process delays the absorption of sugars and fat, softens your stools and promotes regular bowel movements. Together with insoluble fiber, a type of dietary fiber that adds bulk to stools, it can promote fullness and keep you feeling full for longer. In other words, including whole grains as part of your meals and snacks can help regulate your food portion sizes by minimizing your chance of overeating.

You can incorporate more whole grains by having at least half of your grains as whole grains. Try whole-wheat versions of your favorite pastas and other grain products, and make room for whole grains like oats, brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa and barley in your eating pattern.

Top 10 Cholesterol Lowering Foods That Also Lower Triglycerides

It is not uncommon for people who have high triglycerides levels to also be battling higher than desirable levels of LDL cholesterol. Much of the battle fought to control these levels happens on the dinner plate, with diet playing an incredibly important role. Many foods that are found in a low cholesterol diet can also play a part in reducing triglycerides. But, not all of them. There are some cholesterol lowering foods however, that can also have a positive effect on lowering triglycerides. Incorporating more of them as a part of a low cholesterol diet can have an incredibly wide range of positive effects.

We have compiled a list of the top ten foods that anyone considering a reduced cholesterol and triglycerides diet should include. They are heart healthy and ideal for reducing the levels of these lipids in the bloodstream.

1.Soy: It may be the staple of the hippy revolution, but soy based foods have a lot to offer in terms of lowering cholesterol and triglycerides. They are a phenomenal protein substitute for higher fat meats and regular consumption can lower levels of the elevated lipids in the blood in as little as a few short weeks.

5.Whole Grain Bread: The fiber benefits of whole grain breads are the biggest benefit, but what they replace is an even bigger boost to cardiovascular health. By replacing refined grains like white breads with whole grain options, triglycerides spikes can be reduced and over time, both cholesterol and triglycerides can be reduced.