|
Mindful
eating can cut your cholesterol
March 15, 2007
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
If
you struggle to keep your cholesterol level down, you know
there’s a long list of tasty foods you have to avoid.
That’s why it’s nice now and then to think about
the long list of good-tasting foods you can enjoy and how
some of those foods can even help you keep your cholesterol
level under control.
Cholesterol-lowering foods may not replace the need for medications,
including Lipitor, Zocor, Mevacor and others in the class
of drugs called statins. But a healthy diet may have enough
of an effect that it permits you to take a lower dose. If
you take less medication, you may save money and have fewer
side effects, too. As always, be sure to check with your health
care provider before making changes to your medications.
Which foods top the list?
* Oats, peas, beans and barley. Foods rich in soluble fiber
reduce the amount of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) or “bad
cholesterol” in your blood. Cooked oatmeal and oat bran,
split pea soup, refried beans, bean chili and vegetable barley
soup are a good start. If you like oatmeal cookies and muffins,
bean burritos, or black-eyed peas and rice, you’re in
luck. All of these foods contain enough soluble fiber in one
serving to knock your cholesterol level down a few percentage
points. Assuming you don’t counteract the benefits by
loading these foods up with cholesterol-boosting butter, cheese,
sour cream and other animal fats, you can eat them often and
know you’re doing your body some good.
* Walnuts, almonds and pecans. Peanuts, macadamia nuts and
pistachios have also been shown to lower LDL levels. Nuts
are nutritious, too. They’re rich in protein, zinc,
B vitamins, folic acid, vitamin E, selenium, calcium, iron
and fiber. Buy nuts with no added oils or salt. But be careful
about the portion size. Nuts are dense in calories, so they’re
best eaten by the sprinkle rather than the handful if you
need to watch your weight. Toss some nuts onto a salad, into
a pot of chili or in a casserole. Sprinkle some chopped walnuts
on a dish of rice pudding or a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon.
Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on a slice of whole wheat
toast, and top that with apple or banana slices.
Any heart-healthy foods that take the place of other cholesterol-raising
foods also indirectly lower blood cholesterol.
When you eat fish or Chinese vegetable stir-fry with bean
curd instead of filling up on beef, pork or a grilled cheese
sandwich, you greatly reduce your intake of bad fats. Similarly,
whole wheat pasta tossed with pesto and pine nuts is better
for you than macaroni and cheese or baked ziti smothered in
meat sauce or cheese.
Claims about the cholesterol-lowering effect of soy protein
have not been borne out by more recent research. Still, veggie
burgers and soy-based sausage patties contain no saturated
fat or cholesterol and are far healthier choices than their
meat counterparts. Soy burger crumbles, sold in the frozen
breakfast food section of the supermarket, substitute well
for ground beef in tacos, Sloppy Joe filling, spaghetti sauce
and chili. Remember: Less bad fat on your plate means less
bad cholesterol in your bloodstream.
And while medications may have a place, food can be good medicine,
too. Fortunately for us, it not only can be effective, it
can taste good, too.
|
