Cholesterol Diet: How to Eat to Lower Your Cholesterol

By: The Swiss Association for Nutrition (SAN)

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance which performs numerous important functions in the human body. It is a component of cell walls and is used by the body to make various.

Lower cholesterol diets are one way to bring down high cholesterol levels but how to eat to lower my cholesterol? What are the best foods to eat to lower cholesterol ? What can you eat to lower cholesterol? Find some answers in this article.

In this article:

Causes of Cholesterol
"Good" and "bad" cholesterol
How is the cholesterol level increased?
Change of diet
Dietary recommendations in cases of high cholesterol
Food To Eat To Lower Cholesterol
High cholesterol - chief points to remember

Causes of Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance which performs numerous important functions in the human body. It is a component of cell walls and is used by the body to make various hormones; it is also needed for producing the bile acid that helps the digestion.

The body produces most of the cholesterol itself, mainly in the liver. But food provides an additional source. An excess of "bad" cholesterol is not easy for the body to excrete, so it is deposited in the artery walls, where it plays a crucial part in promoting atherosclerosis and hence a gradual narrowing of the arteries. A high blood cholesterol level is therefore one of the main risk factors for the development of coronary heart disease (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction), stroke, and arterial obstruction in the legs.

High cholesterol levels should be treated medically if the overall risk of a cardiovascular disorder is present. By changes in lifestyle (abstention from smoking, reduced stress, increased physical activity etc.) and in dietary habits, cholesterol levels can often be brought back to normal. If this proves unsuccessful, it is necessary to take a so-called lipid-lowering medicine. This applies in particular to people genetically predisposed to have high cholesterol values.

"Good Cholesterol" and "Bad Cholesterol"

In order that body fats (or lipids) can perform their important functions in the cell and can be deposited in the fatty tissue as energy reserves, they have to be transported in the blood to various organs. Since these lipids are not water-soluble, the body provides them with carrier substances known as lipoproteins for transport in the blood. There are two kinds of lipoprotein: the "good" high-density lipoprotein (or HDL) and the "bad" low-density lipoprotein (or LDL). Raised LDL values are bad because they promote atherosclerosis. A high HDL cholesterol level, on the other hand, provides some protection against atherosclerosis, because HDL has the beneficial property of being able to absorb and dispose of excess cholesterol.

How is the cholesterol level increased?