Taking good care of your heart is essential, and it can also often be difficult. After all, several factors such as physical inactivity, obesity, excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption, poor diet, high blood pressure (or hypertension), and high cholesterol can put your heart at risk. But among all these, one of the main risk factors is high cholesterol. This can increase the risk of heart attacks and coronary heart disease. So it’s crystal clear that controlling your cholesterol levels is essential for your heart health. How do you handle this? Adding some vegetables can help you to some extent.
Vegetables to control cholesterol
A heart-healthy diet is considered incomplete without vegetables. They are a good source of fiber, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients that can help your cardiovascular system work better. Plus, vegetables are also low in calories, which is important for maintaining a healthy weight.
HealthShots reached out to nutritionist and lifestyle educator Karishma Chawla to find out which vegetable is best for people with high cholesterol.
Chawla says, “You probably don’t know that pectin, a soluble fiber that lowers cholesterol and is also found in apples and oranges in addition to vegetables, is especially abundant in vegetables.”
Here are 5 vegetables that can lower bad cholesterol:
1. Broccoli
Broccoli is high in soluble fiber, which makes it an excellent food for fighting high cholesterol. It is loaded with many nutrients and a sulfur-rich compound called sulforaphane, which also helps lower triglyceride levels. In the digestive tract, the fiber in broccoli binds with bile acids, which allows our body to easily expel cholesterol. Eating vegetables rich in fiber will also help us to curb overeating and therefore reduce the level of triglycerides in the body.
2. Kale
Potassium, fiber, folate, and calcium are just a few of the heart-healthy components found in abundance in kale. By lowering LDL levels, it can minimize the risk of developing heart disease. Besides having a lot of vitamins, kale contains a lot of lutein. As a xanthophyll, lutein is known to lower blood cholesterol levels by preventing its buildup in the body.
3. Cauliflower
Cauliflower contains a lot of plant sterols, a type of lipid that prevents the intestine from absorbing cholesterol. Sulforaphane, found in cauliflower, also helps lower blood cholesterol levels, which will prevent our arteries from building up fat.
Read also : Tired of eating boring salads? Try this creamy and healthy cauliflower soup
4. Radish
An excellent source of anthocyanin which lowers our LDL level is radish. In addition, it prevents inflammation of our veins and arteries. Being rich in minerals like calcium and potassium as well as antioxidants will help lower our high blood pressure and minimize our risk of developing heart disease. Radishes contain dietary fiber, which lowers harmful cholesterol levels and decreases the risk of heart disease.
5. Carrot
Our heart benefits greatly from carrots. The body converts the beta-carotene it contains into vitamin A. Beta-carotene helps activate BCO1, which lowers blood cholesterol levels and prevents cardiovascular disease. Consuming carrots alters bile acid excretion, cholesterol absorption, and antioxidant status, ultimately defending our heart. Carrots mainly contain soluble fiber in the form of pectin. Blood cholesterol levels are lowered by soluble fiber because it prevents our digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol.
Tips for eating cholesterol-free vegetables
1. Serve
At least 25-30 grams of dietary fiber should be consumed daily in total, without supplementation. Currently, adults in the United States consume an average of 15 grams of dietary fiber per day.
2. Ways to consume these vegetables
Different ways to consume these vegetables to control bad cholesterol are in the form of vegetable juices, soups, steamed vegetables, sautéed vegetables, in the form of rice preparations or even in fermented form. Fermented carrots and cauliflower are packed with beneficial bacteria that help lower cholesterol and detox.
