So me being me, go surfing the internet to figure out how to do this. I stumbled upon a Readers Digest article that breaks it down into ten steps. Some of these actually made me laugh out loud.
1. Drink two glasses of orange juice every morning
But make it Minute Maid's Heart Wise or another brand spiked with the same kind of cholesterol-lowering plant sterols found in margarine spreads like Benecol.
2. Eat six or more small meals a day
A large study of British adults found that people who ate six or more times a day had significantly lower cholesterol than those who ate twice a day, even though the "grazers" got more calories and fat!
3. Sip a glass of wine every evening with dinner (um...I've been sober for 7 1/2 years....this isn't an option for me.)
Studies find a daily glass of wine or beer a day can boost levels of HDL cholesterol. Make the wine a red one–red wines are 3-10 times higher in plant compounds called saponins believed to be responsible for much of wine's beneficial effects on cholesterol.
4. Fix all your sandwiches on whole grain bread (not a big fan of whole grain bread....but I guess I can give it a try)
Simply cutting back on simple carbs like white bread and eating more complex carbs, like whole grain bread and brown rice, can increase HDL levels slightly and significantly lower triglycerides, another type of blood fat that contributes to heart disease.
5. Use paper filters when brewing your coffee and skip the espresso ( We do this anyways)
Two substances found in brewed coffee, kahweol and cafestol, increase cholesterol levels. But paper filters trap these compounds, so they're only a problem if you drink espresso or use coffeemakers without filters.
6. Use olive oil in your homemade salad dressing tonight (we tend to use olive oil for most of our cooking)
A Baylor College of Medicine study found that diets rich in the kind of monounsaturated fat found in olive oil reduced LDL cholesterol in people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome–a cluster of risk factors including low HDL, high insulin levels, and overweight–just as well as following a low-fat diet.
7. Add half a tablespoon of cinnamon to your coffee beans (ground or whole) before starting the pot (um...I wonder if I can get Tim Hortons to do this for me every morning...lol)
A Pakistani study found that 6 grams cinnamon a day (about 1/2 tablespoon) reduced LDL cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes nearly 30 percent and cut total cholesterol 26 percent.
8. Have oatmeal for breakfast every morning (um....yuk!!)
There's a reason oat manufacturers are allowed to boast about the grain's cholesterol-lowering benefits: Plenty of research has proved them. Rich in a soluble fiber called beta glucan, oatmeal can drop your LDL 12-24 percent if you eat 1-1/2 cups regularly. Choose quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats over instant.
9. Eat a grapefruit every other day (this one is doable)
Grapefruits are particularly high in pectin, a soluble fiber that can help reduce cholesterol levels.
10. Use honey in your tea instead of sugar, and honey instead of jam on PB & J sandwiches (I don't put sugar in my tea and I never ever ever eat PB&J sandwiches)
A study from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates found total and LDL cholesterol levels dropped in healthy people after they drank a solution containing honey, but not after they drank solutions containing glucose or artificial honey.
So as you can see....some of these I can do, some of these I can't. Combine what I can with regular excercise and I guess we will see what happens.
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