High cholesterol: The breakfast food which could slash your levels by 16 percent - Oats

 Website content extracted from: High cholesterol: The breakfast food which could slash your levels by 16 percent - United News Post

United News TeamDecember 27, 2021

High cholesterol, similarly to high blood pressure, doesn’t cause many symptoms. However, having too much cholesterol can boost your risk of heart disease and other health problems. Eating too much food high in saturated fats can raise your cholesterol while doing the opposite can pose as an antidote. Here’s one breakfast food that could help lower high levels.

Oats are packed with a type of fibre called beta glucan, linked to a 16 percent drop in cholesterol, the National Library of Medicine reports.

After you eat beta glucan, it forms a gel that binds to the fatty substance in your body. 

This ability of beta glucans helps to lower the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed from your gut into your blood.

This causes your liver to take more cholesterol out of your blood to produce more bile, which subsequently lowers your blood cholesterol, Heart UK explains.

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The heart charity recommends eating about three grams of beta glucans daily to see the results.

Opting for breakfast cereal or oatmeal provides this exact amount of fibre, the Mayo Clinic explains.

To optimise the cholesterol-lowering benefits of this breakfast meal, the health portal recommends adding bananas or berries to get even more fibre in a serving.

However, one important aspect to consider when shopping for oats is the amount of processing and sugar packed in one box.

So, when you are picking up your next box of this breakfast food, opt for an option without trans fat.

Trans fat is considered the worst type of fat, causing a spike in your “bad” cholesterol and a decrease in your “good cholesterol”, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Don’t let this put you off as thanks to fibre-packed oats, granola can be a nutritious and healthy breakfast when chosen carefully.

Choosing granola sweetened with honey could also be beneficial as this specific sweetener has been linked to lowering cholesterol levels, according to the National Library of Medicine.