Cholesterol Free Foods

Cholesterol Free Foods - Tasty and Plentiful

Cholesterol free foods are abundant, and when you're shopping for them, keep in mind one rule.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance. It is produced in animal foods and is rarely found in foods that come from plants.

So, a diet that includes only cholesterol free foods from fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables will just about guarantee you never have problems with high cholesterol.

However...

That's not going to work for most people, especially Americans who love their burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, and all those delectable accompaniments like french fires, which seem to taste best when cooked in animal fats ("animal fats," for purposes of our discussion, doesn't necessarily include fish. More on that later).

So how do you lower your cholesterol by eating more cholesterol free foods without completely foregoing those goodies you've grown to love through the years--goodies that are almost impossible to avoid during the holidays or, for that matter, on the menus of most restaurants?

The first step in lowering your cholesterol is to identify cholesterol free foods and strat to make them a bigger part of your diet.  

Cholesterol free foods come from the plant world, and if you combine large portions of cholesterol free foods with other foods you crave--but may have some bad cholesterol in them--you'll help keep your bad cholesterol levels low without sacrificing all the foods that make life fun.

As a general rule, vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains are all cholesterol free foods. But some of these contain sugars which your body will eventually turn into fat, meaning you should do some further investigation.

Research has shown the following foods to be extremely user-friendly for anyone trying to exclude as much unhealthy cholesterol as possible from their diet.

Oat bran: Oatmeal is a great, easy way to receive the benefits of soluble fibre. You can also find recipes for oat bran pancakes.

Beans. There are lots of different varieties you can add to your diet. Cooked beans, such as pinto and kidney beans are among the options. So are garbanzo beans or chick peas.

Carrots. A recent study revealed that one raw carrot a day at breakfast could lower total cholesterol by as much as 11 percent.

Olive Oil and Canola Oil. These contain a lot of monounsaturated fatty acids, which are helpful as part of a low-fat, low cholesterol diet.

Soy. This is found in tofu, tempeh, soymilk, roasted soy nuts.

Cholesterol Friendly Foods

Eating cholesterol free foods is important. But remember, your own body also produces cholesterol--it doesn't just come from outside food sources. Because of hereditary factors and other causes, some people produce more cholesterol in their body than others. So eating foods that combat bad cholesterol can be as important as eating foods that are cholesterol free. To learn more, click on setting a low cholesterol diet goal.

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