Just a few small changes in your kitchen can go a long way in lowering cholesterol and helping your heart.

• Use fiber-rich foods such as whole grains as your primary source of carbohydrates. Fiber is known to clear the plaque cholesterol builds on the walls of your arteries. Oatmeal is an excellent heart healthy breakfast.
• Explore recipes calling for fresh fruits and vegetables like berries, oranges, apples, pears, grapes, bell peppers, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, tomatoes, dark leafy greens, celery, squash and egg plant. These are both good sources of vitamins and also fiber.
• Replace the saturated fats found in animal foods such as meat, poultry and dairy products with unsaturated fats whenever possible. Specifically, the omega-3 type found in vegetable and fish oils are considered healthy choices. Omega-3’s are also showing promise for weight loss.
• Grill, bake or broil foods instead of frying. If you must fry use a non-stick pan or a non-stick spray like Pam.
• Egg whites are cholesterol free, but a single egg yolk has 213 milligrams of cholesterol. Eliminate the yolk whenever possible or choose range free eggs, which has less cholesterol then caged chicken eggs.
• Choose chicken instead of duck. Don’t forget to remove the skin before cooking since fats are stored in the skin.
• Focus on including proteins from soy, poultry and fish in your diet, instead of meat.
• While too much fat in your diet can increase blood cholesterol levels, a food’s fat content is not a reliable gauge for evaluating its cholesterol content. Liver and other organ meats may be low in fat, but bring high amounts of cholesterol to your diet.
• If you just can’t give up desert, then choose one that is fat free. Try topping it with fruit and you will improve its fiber content.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started but can make a big difference in the health of your heart and your cholesterol levels.

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