Choosing and Preparing Fruits and Vegetables to Lower Cholesterol
For the cholesterol minded, choosing and preparing fruits and vegetables should be number one on your menu. The daily consumption of fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables can help keep you healthy in many ways, including cardiovascular benefits.
Fruits and vegetables are full of essential nutrients, especially fiber, that your body needs. They are particularly good for you when you are trying to lower your cholesterol. It is recommended that at least 5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables is consumed.
A high cholesterol level is often an effect of a diet high in saturated fat, which can lead to many health problems, including a risk for hearts disease and stroke. When unsaturated fats (good fats) replace saturated fats, this will help lower your cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol, found in animal-derived foods, can also affect and raise your cholesterol level. Foods that are plant derived, such as fruits, vegetables, grain, nuts, and seeds, contain no cholesterol and very little bad fat.
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Vegetables
It is important to choose vegetables from each of the 5 subgroups several times a week, dark green, orange, legumes, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables. By consuming a wide variety of vegetables, you have a greater chance of getting your body the maximum nutrients available.
Fruits
Fruits are important when trying to lower cholesterol. You should also consume a wide variety of fruits to get the maximum benefits. What may be plentiful in one fruit isn't necessarily so for another. By sampling a bit of everything (or at least a lot), you have a much greater chance at getting the important vitamins and minerals that your body needs.
Here are some suggestions to help you eat more fruits and vegetables to lower cholesterol:
Eat legumes at least three times a week. Try black bean soup, hummus on crackers, lettuce with chickpeas, three-bean salad, or toasted soy beans.
Eat the whole, raw fruit rather than drinking the juice. Juice is simply fruit with all the fiber removed.
Garlic, either cooked or raw, helps lower the liver's production of cholesterol, and it is a great addition to lots of recipes for that extra bit of flavor.
Add raw onion and avocado into your diet. Avocado is high in fat, but it is mostly monounsaturated fat, which helps lower cholesterol.
Eat foods that contain natural antioxidant vitamin C: red and green peppers, strawberries, oranges, broccoli, cantaloupe, papaya, grapefruit, and brussel sprouts.
Remember to eat fruits and veggies as snacks, salads, desserts, and side dishes. You may also want to use your favorites as the main part of a meal rather than always just as a side dish served in miniscule portions. It's almost as though some of the healthiest foods that you will eat all day are an afterthought!
Add a variety of veggies to soups, stews, casseroles, and pastas. It won't just keep you healthy; it will taste delicious too!
Freeze bananas and grapes to eat as a snack or dessert.
Wash and cut up raw veggies and fruits in your fridge for a quick and easy snack.
To keep your naturally low-fat vegetables low in fat, don't cover them with sauces, creams, and butters. Use spices, herbs, lemon juice, vinegar, or fat-free dressing.
It is possible to get your fruits and veggies in 5 times a day: orange wedges with breakfast, apple and carrot sticks with lunch, small salad and steamed veggie with dinner. It's that easy! And when you are filled with yummy fruits and veggies that help lower cholesterol, there isn't much room left for the bad stuff!
