Grace Magazine

Here are 10 ways to lower your cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease without taking scary drugs.

1. Exercise - There’s no way around it. You have to move every day. Exercise fights the buildup of cholesterol in the blood and plaque on the arteries.
2. Eat Soluble Fiber - Eating foods like beans and lentils can help remove bad cholesterol from your system.
3. Eat fish - Fatty fish provides DHA and EPA, two fatty acids which help fight cholesterol buildup in your arteries. If you don’t like fish, you could take a fish oil supplement.
4. Cut down on meat - Meat and the fat that comes with it is packed with cholesterol. A heavy meat diet is probably the biggest cause of heart disease in America.
5. Cut back on dairy - Dairy products are high in saturated fat and therefore loaded with cholesterol.
6. Use olive oil - Olive oil is one of the best oils to use in cooking and salads. It can help lower LDL, which is bad cholesterol without reducing HDL, good cholesterol.
7. Eat broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage - These kinds of vegetables are high in fiber, which you already know is good, and loaded with indoles, which fights high cholesterol.
8. Eat plant sterols - They can be found in foods like avocados and sunflower seeds and may reduce bad cholesterol.
9. Spice your foods - Cinnamon, chili peppers, evening primrose, garlic and cayenne can help reduce cholesterol.
10. Add oat bran to your diet - Oat bran and rolled oats are other ways to lower your cholesterol. Just be careful not to buy the sugar-filled instant types. Eat the real thing. Yum.

Source: beachbody.com