Is Bread Healthy For You?

Your Daily Bread

Eating bread is not bad after all:  people who eat bread every day had lower levels of LDL, or that could all and healthier insulin levels than those who didn’t.

 

Tip Solution:

  1. Look for loaves that have the word hole in the name.
  2. Look for the word whole to be contained in the first ingredient.
  3. Each slice of bread should contain at least 2 g of fiber.

 

Other foods to lower LDL

 

#1: Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats (Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Peanut Oil, Peanuts, Olives, Avocados)

Cholesterol Reduction:18%

Substituting saturated animal fats and other high cholesterol foods with healthier fats like olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and avocados is the most powerful thing you can do to achieve a drastic reduction in your LDL cholesterol.

#2: Bran (Oat, Rice)

Cholesterol Reduction:7-14%

Bran, particularly oat bran, has been proven effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels. Add bran to hot cereals and bread. Also, eating whole oatmeal every morning, or switching to whole products like brown rice, can help you get more bran in your diet and lower your cholesterol numbers.

#3: Flax Seeds

Cholesterol Reduction:8-14%

Up to 50 grams of flax seeds a day has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol in healthy young adults by up to 8%,6 and 38 grams of flax seeds per day reduced LDL cholesterol by 14% in people with high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia).

#4: Garlic

Cholesterol Reduction:9-12%

Studies have shown that less than half a clove (900mg) of raw garlic a day can lower cholesterol by 9-12%.

#5: Almonds

Cholesterol Reduction:7-10%

Several studies report that eating up to a cup of almonds can reduce cholesterol levels by up to 10%. In a dose response study it was found that half a cup of almonds reduces cholesterol by 5% and 1 cup causes the full 10% reduction.

#7: Walnuts and Pistachios

Cholesterol Reduction:10%

Numerous studies report a reduction in cholesterol with consumption of walnuts or pistachios. This is especially true when the fats from the nuts replace consumption of other high cholesterol fats. Consuming around 30 grams of walnuts, or having the nuts be about 20-30% of total caloric intake is necessary to achieve the cholesterol lowering benefits.

#8: Whole Barley

Cholesterol Reduction:7-10%

Like the bran from oats and rice, barley reduces cholesterol, particularly when it is used as a substitute for wheat products.

#9: Dark Chocolate and Plant Sterols

Cholesterol Reduction:2-5%

The plant sterols and cocoa flavanols in dark non-milk chocolate have been shown to reduce cholesterol by 2-5%. Further, plant sterols (phytosterols), found in all plants, and particularly plant oils like corn oil and soybean oil have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol by up to 16%.  However, this reduction is largely due to inhibiting absorption of cholesterol, and would not have a large effect if you consumed little or no cholesterol.

#10: Green Tea

Cholesterol Reduction:2-5%

Green tea has long been a staple in East Asia where it is believed to wash oil (fat) out of the body. Studies suggest this may be true as. green tea can lower cholesterol by 2-5%.