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Top 12 Ways to Naturally Control Cholesterol
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9. Chocolate
And you thought lowering your cholesterol was going to mean a boring diet! Chocolate has powerful antioxidants that help to increase HDL (good) cholesterol in the body. AJCN published a 2007 study which showed that when subjects were given cocoa powder over a period of 12 weeks, their good cholesterol levels were increased by 24 percent. Dark or bittersweet chocolate are the most heart healthy kind, having as much as 3 times the antioxidants that stop blood platelets from clotting and helps to keep your arteries clear.
10. Olive Oil
Like avocados, olive oil is full of healthy monounsaturated fats which lower bad cholesterol levels. Use it to marinate your meats, make your own salad dressings, and roast veggies.
11. Spinach
This tasty green contains tons of lutein, which not only improves eyesight, it can also help to protect your from heart attacks. Just a half cup of lutein rich foods, such as spinach and Swiss chard can help the walls of your arteries simply slip off those cholesterol chains which clog them up.
SEE ALSO: 5 Steps To Reduce Cholesterol Infographic
12. Increase Your Complex Carbs
The main emphasis of your diet should be fruits and vegetables and whole grains. This means eating a mostly plant based diet with moderate to small amounts of meat. Be sure you eat plenty of vegetables and water soluble fiber such as oat bran and fruit. These types of complex carbs offer your body plenty of the healthy fiber that acts like a broom, sweeping cholesterol out of the body.
