What you eat can affect many of your health, including your heart health, so it is essential to eat healthy food. When your cholesterol levels are better, you are less likely to get heart disease.
This is because certain foods can make your cholesterol levels better. You can keep your cholesterol in a healthy range by eating good nutrition for your heart. A lot of different foods can help you keep your cholesterol levels down. This article will talk about some of them and how they can be part of your plan.
Beans
Plant-based protein, iron, and magnesium are all found in beans. This is because the soluble fiber in beans breaks down in the water to form a gel-like substance as it moves through your digestive tract. Soluble fiber has been shown to help lower cholesterol, especially LDL, or bad cholesterol, building up in the body.
Nuts
There are a lot of healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants in nuts, even though they are small. In a review of three extensive studies that looked at people who ate a lot of nuts, people who ate more nuts were less likely to have cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Walnuts are perfect for your heart because they have the essential omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid in them (ALA). 3 ALA is linked to a lower risk of heart attack or stroke.
It is common to study the health benefits of almonds because they have a lot of mono- and polyunsaturated fiber, fatty acids, and antioxidants like vitamin E, which can help keep your heart healthy, too. A study uncovered that eating almonds may lower your LDL cholesterol levels and keep your HDL good cholesterol levels stable, which can help you stay healthy.
Avocados
Avocados are not only tasty, but they’re also good for your heart, so you should add them to your diet. In addition to its green color, this fruit has a lot of healthy monounsaturated fats and fiber, which can help lower LDL cholesterol levels when used instead of healthy saturated fats.
People who were overweight or obese and ate one avocado a day as part of a heart-healthy diet in 2020 had better LDL cholesterol profiles than they did at the start of the study.
Fatty Fish
It’s well-known that fish are a good source of lean protein and that they can help keep your heart healthy. Taking fish oil supplements, eating more fish, or following a Mediterranean diet, which includes fish, may also have been suggested by your doctor to help you improve your cholesterol level. Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. This is because these acids help your fish stay healthy.
People who ate non-fried fatty fish were less likely to get metabolic syndrome over the next 25 years, according to a large study in 2016. Eight things make you more likely to get heart disease, like low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides. This syndrome is made up of these things.
Barley
Barley is a whole grain with many beta-glucans in it, which are suitable for your body. In the digestive tract, beta-glucans are the fiber that helps lower cholesterol by interacting with fats and bile salts and cutting them down. 2016 looked at the results of many randomized studies and found that barley beta-glucan lowers LDL cholesterol levels and other non-HDL cholesterol in people who took it. 10 Because of this, adding barley-based foods to your diet may help you avoid heart disease.
Soy
Beans are legumes that are high in plant-based protein. Foods like tofu and soy milk are also found in edamame. A study found that having about 30 grams of soy foods a day cut cholesterol levels, which cut the risk of heart disease. Another study looked at 35 studies and found that soy foods had heart health benefits, especially for people with high cholesterol. This included improving LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol levels.
Dark Chocolate
Add a little dark chocolate and cocoa to your diet, even though it might seem like a bad idea. It could help your heart. People who eat dark chocolate or cocoa may be less likely to get heart disease because of their flavonoids. People who took part in one clinical study for six months ate two grams of dark chocolate or two grams of milk chocolate every day.
At the end of the six months, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol all went down, and blood pressure went down a lot more in people who ate 70% dark chocolate than those who ate milk chocolate. People should not overeat chocolate because it can harm their heart health with added sugar. It’s best only to have one serving of dark chocolate a day, and you should choose one with a cocoa content of 70% or more.
Apples, Citrus, and Berries are all fruits
Fruit is an essential part of any heart-healthy eating plan, and for a good reason. You can find many fruits that are good for your body. They have a lot of good things for you, like vitamins. They also have fiber and antioxidants. It helps lower cholesterol by cutting down on how much cholesterol the liver makes. Pectin, a kind of soluble thread found in fruits like apples, citrus fruits, and berries, does this in part.
People who ate two apples a day for eight weeks had lower LDL and total cholesterol levels than those who drank apple juice instead. This fruit has anti-inflammatory polyphenols that can help lower your risk of heart disease by lowering your LDL cholesterol and keeping it from getting damaged.
Vegetables
Including vegetables in your diet is suitable for many things, including your heart health. Vegetables are rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other good nutrients like fruits. They are also low in calories and fat, making them a good choice for your heart. People who drink an excess of fiber from whole foods like vegetables may be less likely to get heart disease because they lower their total and LDL cholesterol levels.
Tea
Tea has polyphenols, which have antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and cholesterol-lowering properties. Compounds that may help prevent heart disease and stroke may be found in these foods. Though some studies have been mixed, most research seems to agree that green tea and black tea can help your heart. This is even though some studies have been mixed.
Olive Oil
In the Mediterranean diet, olive oil is a big part. Olive oil has been looked at a lot for its heart-healthy properties. Extra virgin olive oil is full of monounsaturated fats, which are healthy for your body. They help lower your LDL cholesterol. 21 There are polyphenols in it, which can help reduce inflammation and the risk of heart disease, so it’s also good for you. Using additional virgin olive oil rather than butter in your diet may help keep your heart healthy.