“There is good and there is bad in every human heart, and it is the struggle of life to conquer the bad with the good,” wrote the American playwright Susan Glaspell. The same is true of cholesterol, in that there is both good cholesterol and bad cholesterol in and around the human heart. It is a struggle for some in life to balance out their bad cholesterol with good cholesterol. A failure to reduce levels of bad cholesterol can also lead to an increased risk of a stroke, heart disease and heart attack.
In food, much like in people, one wants the right qualities to best complement a person’s requirements or expectations.
So, if a person wants to lower their cholesterol, there are certain qualities to meet that requirement.
If the end aim is to lower cholesterol, then foods that are high in sterols and stanols are ideal for this purpose.
They block some cholesterol from being absorbed and lower levels of it in a person’s system.
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Sterols and stanols can be found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and some fruit and veg.
Over time, some companies have developed foods that contain plant sterols and stanols that are added in.
Examples of these include yoghurt drinks, some milks and fat spreads.
Sterols and stanols are not the only way to lower cholesterol through food.
These grains are rich in a type of fibre known as beta glucan; this forms a gell in the body that binds to cholesterol-rich acids.
Much like foods with sterols and stanols, this limits the amount of cholesterol absorbed into the body.
Nuts, also high in sterols and stanols, are high in cholesterol absorbing fibre and are a rich source of protein, vitamin E and other compounds the body needs to function.
It should be noted that whilst food is crucial to lowering cholesterol, that it will be most effective in tandem with exercise.
