Has your lipid profile revealed elevated cholesterol levels drawing your focus on lowering them? Are you looking for natural ways to keep your cholesterol in check and prevent potential health risks? If you nodded positively, you may find this blog quite helpful. Diet plays a pivotal role in helping you regulate your cholesterol levels naturally. Certain dietary modifications can help you reduce bad cholesterol and prevent or lower potential health risks effectively. Incorporating various healthy nuts and seeds in your cholesterol diet plan can work wonders in reducing your cholesterol markedly and improving your heart health. So, you might be wondering what cholesterol is, how nuts and seeds can help you alleviate your blood cholesterol levels, and which nuts and seeds you should include in your regular diet, aren’t you? Get all your queries resolved by reading this interesting blog below.

What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is known to be a waxy substance that occurs in your blood. It performs several essential functions, such as the production of vitamin D, building up bile salts in your intestine, maintaining the structural integrity of cell membranes, and producing some crucial hormones. So, cholesterol in the right quantity is necessary for maintaining good health. Our liver generates cholesterol in small amounts as our body requires it to function well. However, we suffer from cholesterol health issues when high levels of bad cholesterol build up in our bodies due to the unhealthy food we consume. The consumption of deep-fried foods, trans fats, and saturated fats contributes to high levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol which increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Role of Diet in Regulating Cholesterol:

Fortunately, you can regulate your cholesterol levels, lower bad cholesterol in your blood, and prevent the risk of cardiovascular health conditions by adopting the right dietary measures. The renowned nutritionists recommends the same, “Diet plays an important part in lowering your cholesterol.” She further mentions that excess cholesterol or cholesterol present in the wrong places can be a concern. Even if cholesterol is oxidized, it can be harmful. So, you need to be careful about what you are eating. So, you need to choose the right foods when developing a low-cholesterol diet plan to alleviate your cholesterol levels.

Seeds and nuts are delicious, healthy options to include in your diet chart for cholesterol control, as they help reduce cholesterol levels naturally. The expert nutritionists also mention, “Nuts are one of the most natural, healthy snacks you can consume, and they each have a plethora of benefits. If you consume just a small amount of nuts every day, you will lengthen your life.” The nutritionist further suggests having nuts in moderation along with a balanced, nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle to experience their health benefits to the fullest. So, you might be thinking about how nuts and seeds can help in cholesterol management, aren’t you? Discover all about cholesterol-lowering nuts and seeds here.

How Do Nuts Lower Cholesterol?
Although most of us perceive nuts as salty, high-calorie, and fatty snacks, they are nutritious foods that not only nourish you with essential nutrients but also aid in lowering your cholesterol levels. Nuts are rich in fibre, monounsaturated fats, antioxidants, proteins, and vitamins. Besides these, nuts are known for their powerful cholesterol-lowering effects. Here is a list of components in nuts that make them a healthy food for reducing cholesterol.

A. Fibre:
Soluble fibre is known for absorbing cholesterol, thereby reducing your blood cholesterol levels. Fibre is present in abundance in nuts which helps reduce cholesterol naturally when you munch on nuts.

B. Unsaturated Fats:
The high unsaturated fat content in nuts is quite effective in reducing cholesterol. Unsaturated fats are known to be liquid at room temperature and are good fats as they help ease inflammation, regulate cholesterol, stabilize heart rhythms, and provide you with several health benefits. Both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in nuts help mitigate bad cholesterol levels.

C. Plant Sterols:
Some nuts comprise plant sterols that are quite effective in lowering cholesterols. Often, plant sterols are added to food products for additional health benefits. However, these healthy plant sterols occur in nuts naturally. So, ensure your cholesterol diet plan contains nuts.

D. L-arginine:
Several types of nuts contain L-arginine, which helps reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and increases HDL (good) cholesterol markedly. L-arginine content in nuts also helps lower blood pressure and improves the overall health of the blood vessels. Dried walnuts, pine nuts, and almonds contain L-arginine.

E. Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
Nuts are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are very healthy for your heart. So, eating nuts reduce cholesterol and lowers the risks of heart attacks and strokes.