With the stressful lifestyles and sedentary days everyone has been leading, heart diseases are becoming increasingly common in the world. The rising number of heart attacks are linked to high cholesterol levels, particularly ‘bad’ LDL. While medication can be used to manage its levels, a good diet is extremely important to have cholesterol in check, which in turn improves heart health and reduces the risk of diseases.

Accordingly, here are some superfoods for high cholesterol.

1. Oats
A bowl of porridge as breakfast can work really well in lowering cholesterol levels. Oats are whole grains that contain a soluble fiber known as beta-glucan. This can reduce cholesterol levels if you are consuming more than 3g every day and help maintain a healthy diet. 3g of beta-glucan in a large bowl of porridge daily can reduce bad cholesterol levels by as high as 7% as per studies.

2. Soy
Whole grains, pulses, and nuts are certain foods that are good to manage cholesterol. Another item that joins these in the list of superfoods for high cholesterol is soy. Including 15g soy protein in the everyday diet can reduce cholesterol levels by around 6%. One can get 15g of soy protein from 2 glasses of soy milk, a good portion of edamame beans, or a small portion of tofu.

3. Avocados
Avocados are quite rich in nutrients. They have many benefits like limiting the content of bad cholesterol in the body. They contain monounsaturated fats and fiber, which are nutrients that increase the content of good cholesterol and decrease bad cholesterol. Clinical studies have proved this effect of avocados, making it a vital addition to your diet.

4. Dark chocolate and cocoa
While many people believe that chocolate is not good for health, dark chocolate can actually lower the level of bad cholesterol in the body. As per a study in which many healthy adults consumed a cocoa beverage twice daily for an entire month, the bad cholesterol level was reduced and blood pressure was controlled. Cocoa and dark chocolate also ensure that bad cholesterol is not oxidized, thereby reducing the chances of heart diseases. However, one must consume chocolate in moderation, as it is high in sugar content, and thus, not good for the heart’s health if consumed in excess. It is recommended to limit the sweet intake to dark chocolate that has high cocoa content.

5. Green tea
Green tea is believed to wash fat out of the body, and thus it can lower the percentage of bad cholesterol in the system by up to 5%. Also, one can consider switching from any other beverage to green tea, if consumed without mixing any sugar, as it has very low calories.

Now that you have an idea about some important superfoods for high cholesterol, you can consider including these in your daily diet. Doing this will help you in improving the condition and avoid it from worsening.