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Photo:Getty Images. EatingWell design.
Getty Images. EatingWell design.
If you have high cholesterol, chances are you’ve been overwhelmed with loads of conflicting information about how to lower your numbers. But there’s one habit that’s key to your success, namely, cutting back on foods that are high in saturated fat.
Why doessaturated fatspell bad news for cholesterol? This fat, found in large quantities in red meat, full-fat dairy, butter, ghee and fried foods, prompts your liver to churn out artery-clogging LDL cholesterol.
For healthy cholesterol levels, swap red meat for leaner proteins like chicken, turkey, fish and legumes. “Instead of butter, use extra-virgin olive oil and avocado oil,” saysLisa Andrews, M.Ed., RD, LD, a registered dietitian and owner of Sound Bites Nutrition. “Research suggests this may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.”
And don’t worry, it’s not that you canneverhave a burger and fries again. But enjoying them on occasion instead of every day—and as part of a diet that’s low in overall saturated fat—can significantly improve cholesterol.
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What Is High Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that travels via your bloodstream throughout your body. Despite its negative image, cholesterol isn’t all bad. In fact, your body needs some cholesterol for important jobs like making hormones, vitamin D and substances that help you digest food.
You’ve probably heard of LDL cholesterol (usually referred to as the unhealthful kind) and HDL cholesterol, which is more beneficial. How do they differ? LDL carries cholesterol that can build up in your arteries, potentially leading to artery-blocking plaques. HDL, on the other hand, ferries cholesterol out of your blood vessels and back to your liver. So, higher HDL levels may lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, while high LDL levels increase your risk.
“High cholesterol is most often silent and undiagnosed,” saysMarjorie Nolan Cohn, M.S., RD, LDN, a registered dietitian and clinical director for Berry Street. “The first line of action is knowing what your levels are.” That begins with blood work at your annual physical. “Routine blood work keeps your health top of mind and is an important resource that provides you and your health care providers with information about how your diet and lifestyle may be impacting your cholesterol levels,” says Cohn. In addition to cholesterol, your health care provider will likely also measure yourtriglycerides. These are fats in the bloodstream that can also increase your risk of heart disease.
High cholesterol is defined as total cholesterol greater than 200 mg/dL. Ideally, readings should fall within the following limits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
What You Need to Know About Your Cholesterol Levels
Other Strategies to Lower Cholesterol
Too much saturated fat isn’t the only thing that can raise your cholesterol. These other nutrition and lifestyle changes can also help keep your number in check.
Plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes are all excellent high-fiber choices. “Adding more fiber to your diet might include a side of fruit at breakfast, swapping out a serving of refined grains for whole grains, or topping your salad with hemp seeds or flax seeds,” saysAlyssa Smolen, M.S., RDN, CDN, a New Jersey-based community dietitian.
12 Foods with More Fiber Than an Apple
5 Sneaky Signs You Might Not Be Eating Enough Omega-3s
Instead, check out these dietitian-approvedNo-Sugar-Added Snacks from Trader Joe’s.
For a nonalcoholic alternative, swap out those evening drinks with one of thesefestive mocktails.
The Bottom Line
Lowering your cholesterol doesn’t have to be complicated. Reducing your saturated fat intake is a great place to start. To trim saturated fat, swap fatty meats for leaner and plant-based proteins, and trade butter for heart-healthy extra-virgin or avocado oils. But don’t stop there. Once you’ve successfully made those changes, you can add in more tweaks, like eating more fiber and fish and limiting added sugars and alcoholic drinks. Over time, these small changes can make a big difference in your cholesterol and heart health!
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Venugopal SK, Anoruo MD, Jialal I.Biochemistry, Low Density Lipoprotein.In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024National Institutes of Health. National Library of Medicine. MedLinePlus.Cholesterol.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Cholesterol.Fu L, Zhang G, Qian S, Zhang Q, Tan M.Associations between dietary fiber intake and cardiovascular risk factors: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.Front Nutr. 2022;9:972399. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.972399Tani S, Matsuo R, Imatake K, Suzuki Y, Takahashi A, Matsumoto N.Association of daily fish intake with serum non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and healthy lifestyle behaviours in apparently healthy males over the age of 50 years in Japanese: Implication for the anti-atherosclerotic effect of fish consumption.Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2020;30(2):190-200. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2019.09.019Costabile G, Della Pepa G, Vetrani C, et al.An Oily Fish Diet Improves Subclinical Inflammation in People at High Cardiovascular Risk: A Randomized Controlled Study.Molecules. 2021; 26(11):3369. doi:10.3390/molecules26113369American Heart Association.Added Sugars.Minzer S, Losno RA, Casas R.The Effect of Alcohol on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Is There New Information?.Nutrients. 2020;12(4):912. doi:10.3390/nu12040912
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Venugopal SK, Anoruo MD, Jialal I.Biochemistry, Low Density Lipoprotein.In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024National Institutes of Health. National Library of Medicine. MedLinePlus.Cholesterol.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Cholesterol.Fu L, Zhang G, Qian S, Zhang Q, Tan M.Associations between dietary fiber intake and cardiovascular risk factors: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.Front Nutr. 2022;9:972399. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.972399Tani S, Matsuo R, Imatake K, Suzuki Y, Takahashi A, Matsumoto N.Association of daily fish intake with serum non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and healthy lifestyle behaviours in apparently healthy males over the age of 50 years in Japanese: Implication for the anti-atherosclerotic effect of fish consumption.Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2020;30(2):190-200. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2019.09.019Costabile G, Della Pepa G, Vetrani C, et al.An Oily Fish Diet Improves Subclinical Inflammation in People at High Cardiovascular Risk: A Randomized Controlled Study.Molecules. 2021; 26(11):3369. doi:10.3390/molecules26113369American Heart Association.Added Sugars.Minzer S, Losno RA, Casas R.The Effect of Alcohol on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Is There New Information?.Nutrients. 2020;12(4):912. doi:10.3390/nu12040912
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Venugopal SK, Anoruo MD, Jialal I.Biochemistry, Low Density Lipoprotein.In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024National Institutes of Health. National Library of Medicine. MedLinePlus.Cholesterol.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Cholesterol.Fu L, Zhang G, Qian S, Zhang Q, Tan M.Associations between dietary fiber intake and cardiovascular risk factors: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.Front Nutr. 2022;9:972399. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.972399Tani S, Matsuo R, Imatake K, Suzuki Y, Takahashi A, Matsumoto N.Association of daily fish intake with serum non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and healthy lifestyle behaviours in apparently healthy males over the age of 50 years in Japanese: Implication for the anti-atherosclerotic effect of fish consumption.Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2020;30(2):190-200. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2019.09.019Costabile G, Della Pepa G, Vetrani C, et al.An Oily Fish Diet Improves Subclinical Inflammation in People at High Cardiovascular Risk: A Randomized Controlled Study.Molecules. 2021; 26(11):3369. doi:10.3390/molecules26113369American Heart Association.Added Sugars.Minzer S, Losno RA, Casas R.The Effect of Alcohol on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Is There New Information?.Nutrients. 2020;12(4):912. doi:10.3390/nu12040912
Venugopal SK, Anoruo MD, Jialal I.Biochemistry, Low Density Lipoprotein.In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024
National Institutes of Health. National Library of Medicine. MedLinePlus.Cholesterol.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Cholesterol.
Fu L, Zhang G, Qian S, Zhang Q, Tan M.Associations between dietary fiber intake and cardiovascular risk factors: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.Front Nutr. 2022;9:972399. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.972399
Tani S, Matsuo R, Imatake K, Suzuki Y, Takahashi A, Matsumoto N.Association of daily fish intake with serum non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and healthy lifestyle behaviours in apparently healthy males over the age of 50 years in Japanese: Implication for the anti-atherosclerotic effect of fish consumption.Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2020;30(2):190-200. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2019.09.019
Costabile G, Della Pepa G, Vetrani C, et al.An Oily Fish Diet Improves Subclinical Inflammation in People at High Cardiovascular Risk: A Randomized Controlled Study.Molecules. 2021; 26(11):3369. doi:10.3390/molecules26113369
American Heart Association.Added Sugars.
Minzer S, Losno RA, Casas R.The Effect of Alcohol on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Is There New Information?.Nutrients. 2020;12(4):912. doi:10.3390/nu12040912
