I struggled with high cholesterol for several years. 

Every time I went to the doctor he would tell me I needed to be on a statin drug to bring my cholesterol levels down. I have heard horror stories about the side effects of statin drugs and I was avoiding them like the plague.

Statins are now the number one selling class of drugs in the nation and new cholesterol medications are produced every day. Almost everybody I talk l with are either on statins and trying to get off, or are trying to figure out how to bring down their cholesterol naturally so they don’t have to go on them. 

I was in the latter category. 

And I found some natural food solutions that can make some big differences. Here are 5 of my favorite foods lower cholesterol naturally:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar 

 The 5 Best Foods to Lower your Cholesterol NaturallyHippocrates gave his patients apple cider vinegar 2,000 years ago as a remedy for a huge list of conditions. It is a powerful detoxifying and purifying agent as it can break down fatty, mucus and phlegm deposits in the body and therefore improve the health and function of the vital organs. 

It has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. And it is also an excellent home remedy for acid reflux, high blood pressure, gout, upper respiratory infections, and more.

Take 1 teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar (Look for the wording ‘with the mother’ for the most potent form.) and mix it in a glass of water and drink it in the morning  and another time or two during the day if you like. 

You can gradually increase the amount of apple cider vinegar to 2 tablespoons per glass. Although best by itself in water you can also mix it with a juice to improve the taste. 

For more on Apple cider Vinegar, check out my blog post HERE.

2. Turmeric  

 The 5 Best Foods to Lower your Cholesterol NaturallyWe sure are hearing more about the healing properties of  turmeric these days. This bright yellow in the spice rainbow has been touted as a cholesterol lowering natural food.  

It has long been used in the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat a ride variety of conditions. 

The yellow pigment of turmeric is called curcumin which is thought to be the primary pharmacological agent in it.   

Turmeric has been shown to lower levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and cut down the buildup of plaque on the walls of arteries which may lower total blood cholesterol. 

Adding a dash of turmeric powder to your soups and vegetable dishes is one of the best ways to get a daily dose of this powerful herb. 

I love making turmeric tea. And I have a great recipe for it in THIS BLOG about turmeric. I grow mine in the garden and great it into my food, and you can also buy them in capsule form.

3. Broccoli  

 The 5 Best Foods to Lower your Cholesterol NaturallyBesides possessing anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, broccoli has a variety of nutrients such as calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, and vitamin C and  K.  

Broccoli can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits especially if you will cook it by steaming. 

The fiber related components in broccoli do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive track when they’ve been steamed.  When this binding process takes place it’s easier for these bile acids to be excreted and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels.   

It also has very positive impact on our body’s  detoxification system.  Included as part of your diet at least 2 to 3 times a week and make the serving size at least one and a half cups.

4. Beets   

 The 5 Best Foods to Lower your Cholesterol NaturallyI love beets. But it is pretty hard to work with the beet in your kitchen without acknowledging the powerful signature it leaves on your hands and countertops. 

The ancient wisdom buried in the ‘doctrine of signatures’ reveals itself bloodily in the beat – it definitely nourishes our blood and circulatory system. 

In fact we now know that it’s one of nature’s finest cardiovascular tonics. And studies have also found that beet fiber is capable of simultaneously increasing HDL and lowering LDL levels and perhaps even more impressive, the study also found close to a 30% reduction in cholesterol. 

This is one of my favorite vegetables that I put in almost all of my smoothies and green drinks. 

I also just love the amazing vibrant color of this food when it is juiced by itself or with a little apple and carrot juice.  But don’t be surprised – if you drink a lot of beet juice there will definitely a be a difference in the coloration in your stool and urine.

5. Micronized Purple Rice  

9 Ways to Eat Micronized Purple Rice
This is hands down my favorite food for so many reasons. 

By the end of the first month of adding this heirloom concentrated powder to my diet, my cholesterol lowered by 73 points! 

I was absolutely shocked and so was my doctor!

This is an heirloom strain of purple rice that grows in northern Thailand in soils that have never had chemicals, pesticides, or GMO’s. 

Then they remove just the nutrients – it takes 60 pounds of this rare purple rice to get 1 pound of nutrients, which they then put through a one-of-a-kind, multi-million-dollar device that gently mills it to the size of a micron. 

So when you mix it in water and drink it, it’s so small that it’s able to penetrate the membranes of your gums, cheeks, throat, esophagus, and stomach to be used immediately. 

The nutrients include: heirloom polysaccharide sugars that fuel the mitochondria or cellular batteries, the polypeptides (this is the only plant that I know of that has every single amino acid) containing building blocks for protein and healthy new cells, and anthocyanin (purple) antioxidants which repair damage.  

While some people have called this a miracle food, the body is the miracle – it knows what to do with these heirloom nutrients so that they are used in the body where they are most necessary. 

For me, the first place it went was to my cholesterol to normalize it into my triglycerides to normalize them. But it didn’t stop there!

It continued to fuel my cells so they could get rid of the arthritic pain, digestive issues, circulatory problems, thyroid imbalances. In other words this food is anti-aging my body like nothing else I’ve ever seen.

To order Micronized Purple Rice for yourself, CLICK HERE.

Are you surprised that Red Yeast Rice isn’t on this list?

That’s because I took red yeast rice for a long time hoping that it would lower my cholesterol and it didn’t.

However, I did start getting leg cramps and symptoms similar to what statins do. 

Red yeast rice really is a type of the statin and can give you similar side effects statin drugs. It is also a rice that is fermented in yeast and yeast is not an thing that I want to put in my body.

When looking at cholesterol and the effects it has on your body, it is really important to look at the overall picture and lifestyle changes. 

For example, losing weight, increasing your physical activity, eating healthier foods, quitting smoking, developing supportive relationships are all things that can help to lower your cholesterol and increase your overall health.

Are you using some of these ways to lower cholesterol naturally? Let me know in the comments!

 

 Photo credit: JeepersMedia via Visualhunt.com / CC BY
 Photo credit: Steven Jackson Photography via Visual hunt / CC BY