Can Fibrous Food Help Reduce Cholesterol?

Health mavens are constantly looking for newer and safer ways to bring down high cholesterol levels. Amid numerous other cholesterol lowering substances, consumption of fiber is being regarded as an critical way to lower cholesterol. Including cholesterol in your daily diet can help in reducing your cholesterol level to a great extent.

There are a number of ways fiber consumption impacts the level of cholesterol in your body. For all desires and purposes, it becomes the carrier of cholesterol in your guts, and then takes it it out along with itself from your excretory system.

Another critical aspect is that it makes your liver use more cholesterol than it might have used otherwise. While the fiber is at the job of removing the extra cholesterol from your body, it also cleans up all the bile salts. This forces the liver to create more bile salts which burns up more cholesterol. As a result, it becomes a rather beneficial ‘vicious cycle’ where cholesterol levels in the body take some serious hits. Hardly any other techniques of removing cholesterol have proven so effective.

With this, it is clear that a fiber rich diet can help reduce the overall cholesterol levels in the body. However, not all fiber works well to bring down the cholesterol in the body. Fiber can be broadly classified into soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.

Out of the 2, it is soluble fiber that’s effective in controlling your cholesterol levels. Some wonderful sources of soluble fiber include oat bran, legumes, nuts, flaxseed, broccoli, sweet potatoes, onions for example.

On the other hand, insoluble fiber is primarily a waste mover of the body. It does not have any ‘direct’ result on the cholesterol levels of your body. Assorted vegetables and fruit, oats, wheat products and whole grain are among the sources of insoluble fibers for human body.

If you really want to use fiber to lower cholesterol, then it is vital that you consume a good amount of fiber as a part of your daily diet. However, if you find that tough, then this advice can be of great help to you.

*Eat fruits and veggies with unpeeled skin.
*Increase your grain consumption as much as you can. Whole wheat pasta, bread and the best options.
*Legumes and beans are an excellent source of soluble fiber. Make a pleasant homemade soup out of it and you will enjoy eating these foods.
*Dish a nice sandwich with loads of cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, sprouts and the like. Alternatively, you can also toss these ingredients and make a pleasant salad. Add a touch of vinegar to the salad for taste.
*Eat oatmeal for breakfast.
*Instead of drinking fruit juices, eat fresh fruits.

Increase the amount of fiber in your diet and it’ll decrease the cholesterol level in your body.

Read More