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In Step 1, we asked you to think about why you want to change your diet to get into the right frame of mind. In Step 2 we asked you to reflect on your current diet and make some simple changes. For Step 3, it’s time to add in some foods that will help to lower your cholesterol.
If you found the previous step difficult, it might help to look back at the things you found motivating in Step 1. If you feel confident that you've built strong healthy eating foundations in Step 2, then now's the time to move onto Step 3.
Whichever UCLP© food you choose will help you manage your cholesterol. The great news is that the more of the four UCLP© foods you add to your heart healthy foundation diet, the greater the potential improvements to your cholesterol levels. It’s best to take one at a time and build up slowly.
Soya foods are made from soya beans. Soya beans are packed full of good quality proteins, healthy fats and a range of vitamins, minerals and plant nutrients. Foods made from soya beans also tend to be low in saturated fat.
Using soya foods in place of full fat dairy foods, meat and other high saturated fat foods will help you to maintain a healthy cholesterol level. These include tofu, shelled young soya (edamame) beans, soya nuts, soya alternatives to milk and yogurts (these can be any flavour, such as plain, Greek-style or fruit), soya custard, soya nuts (roasted Edamame beans), soya mince and meat alternatives.
Soya foods are no longer the domain of vegetarians. Not only is there a greater choice than ever before, they taste great too. So why not give soya foods a go?
It’s best to start with one to two servings a day, and gradually build up to 3, of any combination of the food and drinks listed below.
Fibre is essential for health and found in all plants – fruits, vegetables and cereals.
Oats and barley contain a special form of soluble fibre called beta glucan, which as part of a healthy diet, can help to lower cholesterol. It works by forming a gel in the gut which can bind with cholesterol rich bile acids and stop them being absorbed into the body.
Beta glucan is also found in other grains too – but in much smaller amounts.
3g is the optimum daily amount of beta-glucans to help lower cholesterol, which you can achieve with three servings of any of the foods below, in any combination.
For example, this could look like:
Nuts are packed full of heart-healthy nutrients such as protein, fibre, plant sterols, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, zinc and copper.
Because they are also naturally rich in unsaturated fats and lower in saturated fat, they can help lower cholesterol as part of a healthy diet.
There are lots of different nuts to choose from including almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, cashews and peanuts.
A handful of nuts (28-30g) is about the optimum amount each day. Choose unsalted nuts and, if possible, opt for nuts with their skins still intact and unroasted (rather than roasted varieties) as these contain additional nutrients.
Sterols and stanols are the plant equivalent of cholesterol and are naturally found in a wide range of plant-based foods in very small amounts.
When eaten daily in the right quantity they can help to lower cholesterol. They work by reducing the amount of cholesterol our bodies can recycle.
You need to eat 1.5-3g of plant sterol or stanols daily, as part of a low saturated fat diet, to lower your cholesterol. There are lots of foods now available in stores that are fortified with plant sterols and stanols. Look out for them.
Eat these foods as part of a meal because they work by mixing with the food you have eaten.
Always check the labels to check that the product is fortified with plant sterols or stanols and how much is provided in one serving (product recipes change often). Current products will provide anything from 0.54g to 2g sterols or stanols per serving.
You should not exceed 3g plant sterols or sterols in one day.