High cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease, but diet and lifestyle changes can have a significant impact on your cholesterol levels.
If you have high cholesterol, you can improve your cholesterol levels through healthy diet and lifestyle changes, as well as medication (if needed).
One of the most powerful dietary changes is to increase the fiber in your diet, which you can do by consuming the recommended 2.5 to 3.5 cups of vegetables per day.
This healthy diet includes eating vegetables, which are heart-protective because they contain a specific type of fiber called soluble fiber, which binds to and removes cholesterol from the body through bowel movements.
Vegetables also contain other nutrients that help lower cholesterol, such as antioxidants and plant sterols. Plant sterols are compounds that are structurally similar to cholesterol and can help reduce the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines, which can lower blood cholesterol levels.
Which vegetable is considered the #1 vegetable to lower high cholesterol?
While all vegetables are beneficial in lowering cholesterol, there is one vegetable that is considered the #1 vegetable for lowering cholesterol, and that is Brussels sprouts.
The question is, why are Brussels sprouts ranked #1? Let’s take a look at 3 of their outstanding effects as follows:
1. Brussels sprouts are a good source of soluble fiber
Half a cup of Brussels sprouts provides 4 grams of soluble fiber, of which 2 grams are soluble fiber. Adding just 5 to 10 grams of soluble fiber per day to your diet from foods like vegetables can lower your total bad cholesterol by at least 5 to 11 points.
2. Brussels Sprouts Are High in Antioxidants
Free radicals are naturally produced in the body, but if left unchecked, they can cause oxidative stress, which increases the risk of health conditions like heart disease. Antioxidants help neutralize this oxidative damage, helping to prevent cell damage caused by free radicals, and these small, cabbage-like vegetables are almost as rich in antioxidants as kale and spinach.
Brussels sprouts are particularly rich in the antioxidants quercetin and kaempferol, beneficial compounds that may help reduce oxidative stress in the body. What’s more, half a cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains about half the vitamin C (another antioxidant) your body needs in a day.
3. Brussels Sprouts Are High in Blood Vessel-Friendly Bioactive Compounds
Eating plenty of cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli or Brussels sprouts) may help reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. People who ate the most of these vegetables (equivalent to more than half a cup of raw Brussels sprouts) per day had a 46% lower risk of developing a specific marker of atherosclerosis than those who ate the least (less than a quarter cup per day), due to certain bioactive compounds (flavonols, pectin, vitamin K) in cruciferous vegetables that may help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and prevent arterial calcification.
