Its time to lower your cholesterol.

America generally has a diet problem, we all know that. For too long we have eaten too many foods with too much fat and that has created not only a national weight problem but has also created a serious health problem. One out of every three Americans have high cholesterol, most of this is due to diet. We eat foods high in the wrong kinds of cholesterol and the wrong kinds of fats and way to much of both.

But how?

This isn’t new information to any one. We see this on television and online every day, but what we don’t get enough of is information to change our habits. Enough bad bad bad.. lets talk about good. Good foods with good fat and good cholesterol.

Here are ten foods that are easy to include in your everyday diet and are highly effective at lowering your cholesterol. Foods that can increase good HDL cholesterol while lowering your bad LDL cholesterol and balancing your triglyceride levels.

Almonds- Nuts in general are a great snack food as they are rich in unsaturated fats. Eating just a couple handfuls a day of Almonds can lower your cholesterol level.

Grape juice – Grape juice like wine naturally contains health-protecting antioxidants, including resveratrol and flavonoids which lower LDL levels, reduces the risk of blood clots and prevents damage to blood vessels in the heart.

Olive Oil – Olive oil is what I like to think of as having double down health benefits since its high in anti-oxidants and heart healthy mono-saturated fats which are proven to lower LDL and increase HDL cholesterol in people who use at least 2 tbsp. a day. Plus as your using olive oil your not using another oil that detrimental to your health like palm or canola.

Steamed asparagus – Asparagus and other veggies like beets, okra and carrots when steamed effect bile acids in the liver which can decrease the amount of LDL produced in the body.

Oatmeal – 5 -10 grams a day of oat meal has been shown to lower overall cholesterol in those who eat it regularly. Of all grains oats are the best source of soluble fiber.

Pinto beans – Beans and pinto’s in particular are packed with soluble fiber to lower your cholesterol. Make sure to rinse canned beans to reduce excess sodium.

Blueberries – Not just delicious, blueberries support liver function to help flush away artery clogging LDL cholesterol.

Cold water fatty fish – Fish like tuna, salmon and halibut are high in omega-3 fatty acids which have shown to be highly effective at lowering LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing the beneficial HDL levels in the blood.

Chocolate – Dark chocolate is showing itself to be a kind of a miracle substance full of cholesterol lowering flavonoids, anti-oxidants and oleic acid in its pure form.

Avocado – Call Avocado the super fruit as it benefits the human body in almost every way. Besides being rich in vitamins and minerals and a very effective anti-oxidant its full of heart healthy monounsaturated fats that can knock down LDL levels.

This is a short list including only a sample of the bounty of heart healthy foods out there for the the eating. Food trends to lower your cholesterol come and go in the media so quickly it’s hard to follow and sometimes to take seriously. A good rule of thumb is avoid per-processed foods, if its green and leafy its probably food for you – if its soaking a paper wrapper with grease its probably bad.

30 day action plan to lower your cholesterol.

One of the most important steps to including heart healthy foods into your diet is to know what you’re eating already. Can you remember what you had for lunch yesterday? I find that keeping a sort of food journal for a week lets me take an honest look at my eating habits.

Maybe the best way to accomplish a low cholesterol diet is to identify good cholesterol foods that you enjoy and can easily fit into your life. A couple handfuls of nuts, apples, big scoop of berries in your morning cereal, including an avocado into your lunch, dunking a piece of bread into olive oil instead of smearing it with butter; little changes like these can have a big impact on your cholesterol levels. Also, don’t forget about a good cup of tea.

Try to shop more often. Shopping a couple times a month leads to browsing the frozen foods section. I try to get to the market at least a of couple times a week which allows me to keep fresh fruits and produce around, not to mention lowers the amount of food I end up throwing out.

Eating right is a huge step in the right direction. When you combine a good diet with regular exercise and eliminate other high risk habits like smoking and excessive alcohol your sure to lower your cholesterol, unfortunately for those of us with familial high cholesterol (also known as hereditary high cholesterol) these steps aren’t enough.

The only thing that works for us is to block some of the cholesterol that our liver makes and if you’re like me and you don’t want to take statin drugs - due to all of the side effects - I recommend you give Cardiol a try. It’s all natural and clinically proven to work in 60 days - just one capsule a day. Click here to get a special 60 day trial of Cardiol for just $29.95 and free shipping.