How Does Dietary Fiber Help Reduce Blood Cholesterol Levels

The american heart association aha recommends a total dietary fiber intake of 25 to 30 g d from foods not supplements to ensure nutrient adequacy and maximize the cholesterol lowering impact of a fat modified diet.
How does dietary fiber help reduce blood cholesterol levels. Once excreted these. Soluble fiber may help lower cholesterol levels and help regulate blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber found in beans oats flaxseed and oat bran may help lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol levels.
When soluble fiber cruises through your small intestine it binds to bile and blocks the absorption of excess cholesterol and ushers it out of your body. The national cholesterol education program recommends an intake of 5 to 10 g of soluble fiber per day to improve ldl c levels. To lower your cholesterol consider adding these foods high in soluble fiber to your diet.
Beans just a half cup of cooked black kidney lima or pinto beans is a great source of soluble fiber. It dissolves in water to form a gel which moves slowly through the intestines grabbing up fat dietary cholesterol bile salts and sugar to be excreted. Studies also have shown that high fiber foods may have other heart health benefits such as reducing blood pressure and inflammation.
Your body needs some cholesterol to produce bile acids that aid digestion of fats. There are two types of fiber. Several studies have shown that fiber you get naturally from food as part of an overall healthy diet can help to protect your ticker.
While both are important for your health soluble fiber is the one that helps to lower blood cholesterol levels. Fiber has been shown to lower cholesterol levels specifically the bad type of cholesterol that can lead to heart disease. The national cholesterol education program ncep suggests that people adhering to the therapeutic lifestyle changes tlc program a diet and exercise program designed to lower cholesterol get at least 5 to 10 g of soluble fiber a day but 10 to 25 g of soluble fiber is recommended to lower ldl cholesterol even more.
This article looks at the different types of fiber why they are important and suggests some healthful fiber.