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High cholesterol can lead to coronary heart disease, which is the biggest cause of heart attacks. Cholesterol can be lowered by making dietary changes, such as cutting down on saturated fat, but including other foods in your diet can also help to lower cholesterol levels.
Figs
Animal studies have shown improvements in total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglyceride levels when supplementing with fig leaf extract.
However, in a five-week study in 83 people with high LDL (bad) cholesterol, researchers noted that those who added about 14 dried figs (120 grams) to their diet daily had no changes in blood fat levels, compared with a control group .
More human studies are needed to better understand the relationship between figs and heart health.
Nuts
Certain nuts, like almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios and macadamia nuts, can reduce LDL cholesterol.
Studies on nut consumption have shown that eating tree nuts can improve blood pressure and reduce inflammation, which are both factors that can contribute to heart disease.
Almonds and other tree nuts can improve blood cholesterol.
A recent study concluded that a diet supplemented with walnuts can lower the risk of heart complications in people with history of a heart attack.
All nuts are high in calories, so a handful added to a salad or eaten as a snack will do.
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Orange juice
Orange juice has been shown to increase levels of “good” HDL cholesterol in people with elevated levels.
What’s more, drinking orange juice has been shown to reduce another risk factor for heart disease – high blood pressure.
A review of 19 studies noted that drinking fruit juice was effective at decreasing diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number of a blood pressure reading) in adults.
Avocado
Technically a fruit, avocados are native to Central and South America and are also known as butter pear.
Avocados are highly nutritious, containing vitamin E, potassium, niacin, monounsaturated fats and soluble fibre.
The breakfast food also contains useful minerals, such as iron, copper and B vitamin, folate.
Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, research suggests that monounsaturated fat (found in avocados) helps to protect against heart disease.
The NHS recommends four eating habits to help lower cholesterol levels, with the first being to eat oily fish, such as mackerel and salmon.
Moreover, the next step is to choose brown rice, bread and pasta to eat (typically wholemeal).
And to snack on nuts, seeds, fruits – such as avocado – and vegetables.
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