Curbing the ‘bad’ cholesterol for a healthier heart

Many of us have heard that there is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol, but do you know what each one does within in the body? HDL, or the ‘good’ cholesterol, is known to protect the heart from disease and tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it’s passed from the body. We need the ‘good’ cholesterol to help create hormones like adrenalin, estrogen and testosterone. Whereas, LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol actually accumulates on artery walls hardening into plaque that can block blood flow leading to stroke, heart disease or a heart attack.

Foods that can raise your ‘good’ cholesterol and help protect your heart

To help keep the ‘bad’ cholesterol at bay try adding some of these great foods to your diet:

Garlic – Clinical trials have shown that eating about two cloves of garlic per day may help prevent clogging of the arteries and reduce your risk of a heart attack. But it’s not only the amount you eat but also how you prepare it that may be the trick to enhancing the benefits. Chopping or crushing garlic in a press and letting it sit for 10 minutes releases more of its therapeutic properties. So the next time you add garlic to your recipes make sure you chop it and let it sit.

Adding garlic: stir one teaspoon of chopped garlic into 2 tablespoons of low-fat mayo to use on sandwiches or wraps.

Extra-virgin olive oil – Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats, which can lower LDL when they replace saturated fats in the diet. “In fact, every 1 percent decrease in your intake of saturated fat – can reduce your LDL level by 2 percent,” says R.D. Melissa Ohlson. What you need to watch out for is replacing your saturated fat with carbohydrates like white bread or low-fat cookies, which can lower your LDL’s, but they also lower your HDL as well.

Adding unsaturated fats by cooking with olive oil, avocado, and nuts will help keep your cholesterol in check.

Almonds – A recent study from the University of Toronto found that adults, who ate an ounce of almonds a day as part of a healthy diet, lowered their LDL levels by 13 to 20 percent. Almonds are particularly heart-healthy because they have the most vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant known to help protect the heart.

Adding almonds: toast the almonds with spices or herbs in a pan at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes to bring out the flavor!