A nutritionist has revealed what foods you should be eating to lower your cholesterol (stock) (Image: Getty)
A nutritionist has issued shopping advice to anyone who has been told they have high cholesterol. Anita Wong, who is known as Nutrition Uncovered on social media, highlighted several foods that will benefit your heart by reducing the amount of the fatty substance in your blood. “Here are some things you can put into your basket the next time you go shopping,” she began in a TikTok video.
1. Nuts: “Add nuts to your diet like walnuts or pistachio nuts – any of these types of nut are high in healthy fats,” Anita advised. She went on to point out that walnuts are high in Vitamin E and an excellent source of fibre.
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“Again, this will start to push the waste products out of your body and help remove that cholesterol,” she said. Anita explained that peanuts also possess cardiac-boosting properties too and are high in protein and fibre.
She continued: “Add any of them to your diet – put them on your breakfast cereal or in your salad wraps… nuts are a really good addition.”
2. Dark green vegetables: Anita also recommends dark green vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli and cauliflower. “Any of these types of green root and on the top of the soil vegetables are high in fibre and they are also high in natural stanols, sterols and phytonutrients, which are plant chemicals that will help get rid of the cholesterol from your body,” she said.
3. Sweet potato: Next on Anita’s list is sweet potato – something she said boasts “whole carbs”, meaning there is fibre as well as carbohydrates in abundance. “The fibre will slow down the release of the sugars and it will also help move any cholesterol that is moved into your digestive system from the liver out of the body,” she explained.
4. Omega-3: Fish is also high on Anita’s list of priorities – namely mackerel, which is not only much cheaper than salmon, but posseses more omega-3s per 100g.
5. Chicken: “Chicken is a great source of protein and it’s something you should be eating a lot of,” Anita continued. However, she warned against consuming thighs and legs, owing to their excess fat.
“Stick to the breast, which has less fat,” she said. Anita elaborated: “If you buy the whole chicken, try to eat the breast and cut as much of the fat off as possible.”
6. Dairy: For those who can tolerate dairy, Anita suggests snapping up Kefir yoghurts, which she says are full of healthy bacteria. “It’ll help optimise your gut and help move the cholesterol through,” she said.
Anita closed: “You can also go for the cholesterol-lowering drinks – these have actually got stanols added to them to help them with your journey in reducing cholesterol.”
The NHS supports Anita’s advice, meanwhile, advising online: “To reduce your cholesterol, try to cut down on fatty food, especially food that contains a type of fat called saturated fat. “You can still have foods that contain a healthier type of fat called unsaturated fat. Check labels on food to see what type of fat it has in it.”
It added a list of foods would should eat more of, and those you should cut down on.
Try to eat more:
- oily fish, like mackerel and salmon
- olive oil, rapeseed oil, and spreads made from these oils
- brown rice, wholegrain bread, and wholewheat pasta
- nuts and seeds
- fruits and vegetables
Try to eat less:
- meat pies, sausages, and fatty meat
- butter, lard, and ghee
- cream and hard cheese, like cheddar
- cakes and biscuits
- food that contains coconut oil or palm oil
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
