Cholesterol Lowering Foods

'Functional' for your heart
For years, a "healthy diet" has been largely defined by foods that should be avoided. We've learned to (try to) stay away from potato chips, cookies and virtually everything else that tastes good. Now, the focus may be about to shift toward foods you should work to include in your diet. When major food manufacturers introduce new, specially engineered product lines, their message may be: Eat our cereals, pastas, and even cookies and potato chips as part of your healthful diet.

These new products, enhanced with natural ingredients, are being called "functional foods." According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), functional foods may provide specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition when consumed as part of a varied diet. Many of the first functional foods to hit the shelves will tout the ability to lower cholesterol, a major contributing factor in cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States and other industrialized countries.

However, you don't need to wait until functional foods reach supermarket shelves to make your diet more heart-healthy. "The idea of functional foods came, in part, from understanding which components in natural foods help lower cholesterol, such as soluble fiber, soy protein and plant sterols," says Tu T. Nguyen, M.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

A careful review of what's already in your kitchen may reveal a ready cholesterol-fighting menu.

Natural foods
Natural foods fight cholesterol in a number of ways. Although dietary supplements are available for many of these natural substances, they are generally not as effective as the real thing.

Consider increasing your intake of foods containing the following cholesterol-lowering components:

Soluble fiber
We've all heard the phrase, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." But did you know that adage also holds true for lentils? Apples and lentils are both rich in soluble fiber, which regulates your body's production and elimination of cholesterol. Other good sources of soluble fiber include dried beans, peas, barley, citrus fruits, carrots and oats. Products containing lots of rolled oats and oat bran were the first to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to boast on their labels that they may reduce the risk of heart disease when combined with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. However, in order to reap the cholesterol-lowering benefits of oats, you must eat a sizable portion — the equivalent of about 3/4 cup of raw oatmeal each day.

 

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