When you consider what to eat every day, you have to think about how much bad cholesterol, or LDL (low density lipoprotein) you consume. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult to determine nowadays which foods are good and which foods are bad. Eggs, for instance, were said to be full of bad cholesterol, but this has now been proven to be untrue. So what are the easiest ways to lower your cholesterol?

Some of the Easiest Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol:

  1. Increase your intake of vitamin E. You can do this by taking supplements, for instance. Doing so means that LDL will find it harder to oxidize. When cholesterol oxidizes, it creates plaque on your arterial walls, and this is what increases your chance of a stroke or heart attack as it hardens the arteries and narrows them down, thus increasing blood pressure. Vitamin E boosts the amount of HDL (high density lipoprotein or good cholesterol), which remove the plaques.
  2. Eat breakfast. The old saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is still true. If you eat breakfast, you will crave far fewer foods during the day. Plus, you won’t overeat during other meals. When you eat breakfast as a habit, you can lower your cholesterol simply because you will eat less overall and because most breakfasts are low in LDL.
  3. Eat more often and have smaller meals. When you eat a huge meal, your body releases lots of insulin. This stimulates the production of cholesterol. If you eat smaller meals and more frequently, you will eat the same amount of calories but without the insulin surge. Additionally, you will train your body to expect regular meals, which means it won’t store fat for later use.
  4. Increase your intake of beans and fruits. It should come as no surprise that vitamins and minerals are vital to keeping you healthy. Vitamin C is one of the most important in terms of combating bad cholesterol. Hence, if you eat lots of fruits, particularly fruits that have high levels of pectin fiber, you will to rid yourself of bad cholesterol. Pectin is also present in beans.
  5. Eat lots of garlic. Seven cloves per day may sound like a lot of garlic, but eating them will significantly lower your overall cholesterol levels. If seven cloves really is too much, then consider supplementation.
  6. Get rid of decaf coffee. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to lower your cholesterol is by getting rid of the decaf coffee. A lot of people think decaf is better, because caffeine is bad for the heart. However, coffee beans contain cafestol, which stops your body from controlling LDL. Cafestol is bad for you, therefore, and it is found in both caffeinated and decaf coffee. Unfortunately, this means you should simply avoid coffee altogether.

Remember that cholesterol is made up of three elements: LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. You need all of them to a certain degree, and only LDL is classed as bad cholesterol, although even that has a role to play. The tips above should ensure that you only have as much LDL as you actually need.