If you have chosen to use a lower cholesterol diet to improve your lipid readings, I applaud you. In most cases, individuals turn to medication to bring their cholesterol readings down. However, medication can never provide the benefits of a diet to lower high cholesterol which include having more energy, an improved immune system, and slowing down the aging process.

Let's take a look at some of the facts related to using diet to lower high cholesterol.

First of all, for the vast majority of individuals who have high cholesterol, any diet that is rich in the foods that lower cholesterol, and reduces the amount of saturated fat intake will be effective. I personally chose the South Beach diet.

While the South Beach diet is not specifically designed as a cholesterol lowering diet, it works as a lower cholesterol diet due to the amounts of vegetables, whole grains and nuts that it recommends. The wonderful thing about a diet plan like this is that it provides the structure necessary to stay with it until goals are met.

Another important aspect to a diet to lower high cholesterol is that it provides high amounts of nutrients including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids (EFA). No matter what diet you choose, this is important to keep you feeling good both mentally and physically. One of the sad facts of life is that if we don't feel good, we won't follow through with difficult things such as dieting.

A lower cholesterol diet should contain many vegetables, the best of which are brussels sprouts, spinach and broccoli. These all contain very high levels of fiber and plant sterols that have been shown scientifically to reduce cholesterol levels. Fruit is also effective for reducing cholesterol. However, due to its high glycemic index, fruit can increase cravings which may keep you from eating the best foods for lowering cholesterol.

These are the types of things you'll need to consider as you look into a diet to reduce cholesterol that will work for you. Whether you use a structured lower cholesterol diet or develop your own diet, I encourage you to visit my website where I discuss the most effective foods to lower cholesterol and other things you can do to improve your cholesterol health.


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