Having high cholesterol means you have too much of a fatty substance known as cholesterol in your blood. While not initially dangerous, over time this can build up in the blood vessels causing blockages.
This can prevent blood from flowing properly through the arteries. For this reason, having high cholesterol is a major risk factor for medical emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks.
There are several factors that can contribute to high cholesterol, with diet being one of them. Specifically, eating too much saturated fat can raise your cholesterol levels.
Luckily, making certain changes to your diet can also have the opposite effect. If you are therefore at high risk for high cholesterol or looking to lower your levels, you should take a look at what you are eating.
According to one dietitian, changing your breakfast is a good place to start. Speaking in an article published by the Cleveland Clinic, registered dietitian Kate Patton, shared the best types of breakfast you can eat to slash cholesterol levels.
Yoghurt with fruit and oatmeal
Depending on the type of yoghurt, this could be one of the best meals for lowering cholesterol, Kate said. She explained: “Yoghurt is a common food for breakfast, but some may not consider it. Depending on its fat content, there may be some cholesterol in it but not a lot.”
For the healthiest option she suggested choosing one that doesn’t have added sugar. Combining this with fruit for sweetness and oats for substance could further help your cholesterol levels.
Oats are rich in a type of fibre called beta-glucan, which has proven cholesterol-lowering benefits. Heart UK says: “Eating three grams of beta-glucan each day, as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle, lowers blood cholesterol which is a risk factor of coronary heart disease.
“When you eat beta-glucan, it forms a gel in the gut which traps cholesterol-rich bile acids. This means less cholesterol passes from the gut into the bloodstream. Your liver then has to take more cholesterol out of your blood to make more bile, which lowers your blood cholesterol.”
Avocado toast
Kate listed avocados and whole-grain bread as good cholesterol-busting foods. One scientific study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that participants who ate an avocado daily had lower bad cholesterol levels and improved their diet quality.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) also recommended eating avocados as a “heart healthy” option. It said: “The type of fat in an avocado is mainly unsaturated (specifically, monounsaturated), which, when eaten in place of high-saturated-fat foods, can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.”
Kate further recommended the following breakfast foods for their cholesterol-lowering properties:
- Natural nut butters (almond, cashew, peanut)
- Nuts and seeds
- Shredded wheat.
If you already have high cholesterol or are at risk for high cholesterol she advised avoiding the following foods:
- Beef fat
- Cheese
- Chicken fat
- Egg yolks
- Meats and poultry
- Milk
- Pork fat/lard
- Processed meats and poultry products (bacon, hot dogs, jerky, some lunch meats and sausage)
- Shellfish (lobster and shrimp)
- Spreads (butter, cream cheese and sour cream).
Kate added: “A diet high in animal fat, saturated fat and cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes and obesity. It is important to assess how much animal fat you are consuming and try to replace it with plant-based foods instead.”
If you are concerned about your cholesterol levels you should speak to your GP.