Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in all the cells in your body. Your body needs some cholesterol to function properly. But if you have too much cholesterol in your blood, it can stick to your artery walls and tighten or even block them. This puts you at risk for coronary artery disease and other heart conditions.
If you eat enough fruits and vegetables in your diet to get enough fiber, it will help lower your blood cholesterol.
Why Does Fiber Help Lower Cholesterol?
Fiber is a general name for certain types of carbohydrates, usually the part of vegetables, plants, and grains that your body can’t completely digest. Although fiber isn’t broken down and absorbed like a nutrient, it still plays an important role in your health.
There are two main types of fiber. They are soluble (dissolves in water) and insoluble (doesn’t dissolve). As a result, they are called complex fibers.
Soluble fibers can dissolve in water. When they absorb water, they can create a gel-like substance that slows down digestion. Soluble fibers can help lower bad cholesterol.
Insoluble fibers cannot dissolve in water. They speed up digestion and increase the volume of the breakdown to ensure a steady bowel movement and reduce the risk of slipping.
How does fiber help lower cholesterol?
Fiber helps lower cholesterol in three ways:
- Captures fat and cholesterol in the small intestine so it can be excreted instead of absorbed into the blood.
- Reduces the amount of bile reabsorbed from the small intestine. The body may then need to make more bile and use cholesterol to do this.
- Slows down digestion, slowing the rate at which blood sugar levels rise after eating. High blood sugar can cause more triglycerides to form, which can then cause more cholesterol to form.
How can I get more fiber through my diet?
You should eat more foods that contain soluble fiber, which helps prevent your digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol. You should try to get 10 to 25 grams of soluble fiber each day.
Foods rich in soluble fiber include:
- Oats
- Beans / Lentils
- Lua card
- Avocado
- Green soup
- Brussels sprouts
- Berries
- Apples / Pears
- Sweet potatoes
- Grated lentils
How can I increase my fiber intake?
Increase your fiber intake simply by adding more plant-based foods to your diet. This could include:
- Eating wholemeal bread instead of refined white bread
- Snack on fruit and nuts
- Adding vegetables to every meal, for example adding tomatoes to breakfast toast, adding salad to a lunchtime sandwich and adding vegetables to dinner
- Replacing white bread with brown rice
- Eating high-fibre breakfast cereals such as oats
- Adding bran or psyllium husk to yoghurt, cereals, stews etc
- Eating whole fruit instead of drinking fruit juice
- Replacing meat with beans in your favourite meals
- Aiming for a variety of different coloured foods
- Since dietary fibre can absorb water, it is important to ensure you consume enough water each day.
