Go heavy on garlic. Vampires aren’t the only thing garlic keeps away. In large doses-at least seven cloves a day-this food can significantly reduce cholesterol. Of course, that’s probably more garlic than most people eat in a month. To get a similar benefit, try odorless garlic pills. When people with moderately high cholesterol took four capsules a day of an odorless liquid garlic extract called Kyolic, their cholesterol levels initially rose but then fell an average of 44 points after six months, according to a research study headed by Benjamin Lau, M.D., Ph.D., at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California. You can find garlic pills at most health food stores.
Don’t depend on decaf. Decaffeinated coffee actually raises LDL levels more than regular brew, so it’s the worst beverage selection if you have high cholesterol, according to Dr. Jenkins. It may be because the beans used for decaf are stronger than “regular” beans. Frequent coffee drinkers (those who drink it daily typically have a 7 percent cholesterol increase, as shown in a study at Stanford University in Stanford, California.
Gravitate toward grapes. There’s a cholesterol-lowering compound in virtually all products containing grape skin, including wine, according to pomologist Leroy Creasy, Ph.D., of Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Science in Ithaca, New York. You can take advantage of these cholesterol-clobbering qualities by drinking grape juice or simply eating grapes.
Cook up some beans. Lima beans, kidney beans, navy beans, soybeans, and other legumes can all help lower your cholesterol, according to James W. Anderson, M.D., an expert in cholesterol research who is professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington. The reason these high-fiber legumes are so effective is because, they, too, contain pectin. The more of these beans you can eat, the greater the benefits.
In one study, Dr. Anderson asked men to eat 11/2 cups of cooked beans a day. The result? Their cholesterol plummeted 20 percent in just three weeks. You probably won’t go for much, but the more beans, the better and high-fiber diets have many other benefits besides. Look for a cookbook or two that have great recipes with beans, and try to get more in your diet.
Munch a couple of carrots. Bug’s Bunny’s favorite entrée is a boon to arteries because carrots have plenty of cholesterol-lowering pectin. “It may be possible for people with high cholesterol to lower it 10 to 20 percent just by eating two carrots a day,” says Peter D. Hoagland, Ph.D., a researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Eastern Regional Research Center of Philadelphia.
(published with permission in writing from:http://www.cholesterol.tv/)
