But you can help lower your cholesterol simply by changing your diet. The Mayo Clinic suggests these five foods for better cholesterol and heart health:
• Oatmeal and other foods high in soluble fiber, such as apples, kidney beans, pears, barley and prunes. Try for 5 to 10 or more grams of soluble fiber per day.
• Fish and omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3s can reduce the risk of blood clots; the highest amounts are in mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, salmon and halibut.
• Nuts! But try to limit yourself to about a handful—they’re naturally high-calorie.• Olive oil. But be careful to swap it for something else in your diet, don’t just add it. Two tablespoons have 240 calories.
• Plant sterols. They’ve been added to some brands of margarine, orange juice and yogurt drinks. Try for at least 2 grams, about the amount found in two 8-ounce glasses of fortified orange juice.
Your Guide to Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes), from the National Institutes of Health, offers even more detail – lots and lots of detail – even information on salt and alcohol, label-reading instructions, sample menus and more.
Now that you know which foods to choose, take care with how they’re prepared. A piece of apple pie a day probably doesn’t do much for cholesterol or overall health.