Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in your blood. Your body needs cholesterol to make hormones and new cell walls, but too much cholesterol can cause health problems. High cholesterol is a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It can also give you symptoms such as dizziness, but most patients remain asymptomatic.
If you’re worried about your cholesterol levels, you are far from alone. Fortunately, some foods can lower your cholesterol naturally. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top five foods that lower cholesterol and can help you reduce your cardiovascular risk.
They are more common than we think, and you don’t require complicated preparations to adopt them in your diet. Here’s the first one on the list:
1) Olive oil
Olive oil can reduce cholesterol levels by 18%, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is due to the healthy fats olive oil contains. Instead of raising your bad cholesterol (LDL), this particle reduces while HDL (also termed good cholesterol) increases.
According to the researchers, one tablespoon of olive oil contains around 9 grams of oleic acid. This is a monounsaturated fatty acid that helps to reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein or LDL. The fact that HDL cholesterol increases after consuming olive oil are actually good news because this “good” cholesterol removes LDL effects and lipid accumulation from the arteries. This protects against cardiovascular disease and can help you clean your arteries from excess fat, improving blood circulation.