Good HDL Cholesterol Foods - Bon Appetit

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If you want to avoid or manage high blood pressure, you need to keep your cholesterol levels down. You need to avoid eating foods high in LDL cholesterol. You shouldn't cut out foods with cholesterol entirely, but trying to determine what foods are good for you and what are bad can sometimes threaten to raise your blood pressure. Take a deep breath and look at all of the choices you have with good HDL cholesterol foods. Please don't use this article in the place of your doctor's advice.

Oatmeal And Oat Bran

The prestigious Mayo Clinic lists oatmeal as one of the best foods people can eat to help lower their cholesterol levels. In order to get the most beneficial help from oatmeal and oat bran, you shouldn't drown a bowl of it in butter and maple syrup. Cold breakfast cereals containing oat bran are also good HDL cholesterol foods.

The magic ingredient in these good HDL cholesterol foods is fiber. Fiber helps to clear "bad" cholesterol or LDL cholesterol from your body. Fiber also helps to give you that "full" feeling so you won't feel hungry all of the time and be temped to snack on foods high in fat and LDL cholesterol.

Nuts

Unsalted, unsweetened walnuts or almonds can not only help you lower your cholesterol, they can also help your to feel full so you can more easily stick to a sensible, balanced diet. People who need to lower their LDL cholesterol levels often need to lower their saturated fat intake, too. Although walnuts and almonds contain fat, it's polyunsaturated fat which won't aggravate your blood pressure. You should only eat about two ounces of nuts during a snacking session.

Oily Fish

Some kinds of fish also make filling, versatile and good HDL cholesterol foods. These kinds of fish include salmon, sardines, herring, albacore tuna and mackerel. You don't want them fried or smothered in creamy, fattening sauces. You want them broiled, smoked, or steamed.

The magic ingredient here in these kinds of fish is called omega-3 fatty acids, which not only helps to lower blood pressure but also reduces your risk of getting blood clots. Some people skip eating the fish and take fish oil liquids or capsules that are full of omega-3 fatty acids. However, the liquids and capsules don't taste nearly as good as the actual fish fillets and are often more expensive.

Certain Cooking Oils

Your doctor has probably told you to drop certain foods off of your menu in order to help lower your cholesterol and your chances of getting a heart attack. This list probably included lard, shortening, butter, creamy salad dressings and meat drippings. You can substitute a lot of those with oils that can help lower your LDL cholesterol and taste good.

These oils include canola oil, ground flaxseed oil and olive oil. There are many grades and types of olive oil, which can make it hard to choose which one to get. For cooking, regular (and less expensive) olive oil can be used. But for salads, extra virgin olive oil is recommended.