Cholesterol: Reducing in your Diet (2651)

If your doctor told you to change your diet to reduce your cholesterol level, you're not alone. Let's take a look at what cholesterol is and how to reduce it.

Blood cholesterol is reported as an amount in milligrams per deciliter of blood. For adults over twenty years old, a total cholesterol level over two hundred milligrams per deciliter of blood may be high, depending on other existing risk factors. Most people can reduce their blood cholesterol with a diet low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

If you're overweight, reducing your calorie intake and getting more exercise may help. If diet alone doesn't bring your blood cholesterol down to safe levels, your doctor may recommend drugs to control cholesterol levels.

There are other risk factors in addition to a high blood cholesterol level, that increase your likelihood of developing coronary heart disease. These include smoking, high blood pressure, a family history of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and poor blood circulation. If you have two or more risk factors for coronary heart disease, your doctor may advise you to bring your blood cholesterol level down to two hundred or less. Again, a low-fat diet works best to reduce cholesterol, although drugs may be necessary if diet alone can't reduce your cholesterol far enough.

Advertisements often promote certain foods as helpers to reduce cholesterol. Fish oil supplements are an example. Fish oils can help some people, because the oils slow down blood clotting. Blood clots are involved in heart attacks. However, there are risks associated with fish oils, especially for people who are pregnant, obese, or diabetic, or those who take blood thinning medications or a lot of aspirin. Use fish oil supplements only under a doctor's supervision.

People look to certain foods, such as rice and oat bran to reduce their risk of heart disease. Both are high in soluble fiber, the fiber that helps reduce blood cholesterol. Beans, peas and many fruits also have soluble fiber. Research shows that people, who eat oat bran and other foods with soluble fiber daily, along with a low fat diet, can bring their blood cholesterol down further than they can with just the low-fat diet.

The effects of these special foods are often not dramatic, but the extra cholesterol reduction may prevent some people from needing drugs to lower cholesterol levels. Keep in mind that the effects of these foods on cholesterol levels aren't permanent, so you would have to continue to eat them for a lasting benefit.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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