Introduction
As we age, our bodies go through many changes, and our dietary needs change as well. Eating habits that were once beneficial may no longer be so. After the age of 50, it is important to pay attention to your cholesterol levels and make sure they are within a healthy range. Dietitians recommend certain eating habits to help lower your cholesterol after 50. Eating the right foods and avoiding the wrong ones can help you maintain a healthy cholesterol level. This article will discuss the eating habits that dietitians recommend to lower your cholesterol after 50. It will also provide tips on what to eat and what to avoid in order to keep your cholesterol levels in check.
Eating Habits to Lower Your Cholesterol After 50, Say Dietitians
As you age, your body’s metabolism slows down and your cholesterol levels can rise. But that doesn’t mean you have to accept a higher cholesterol level. Dietitians say that by making a few simple changes to your eating habits, you can lower your cholesterol after 50.
Eat This
- Whole grains: Choose whole grain breads, cereals, and pastas instead of refined grains.
- Fruits and vegetables: Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day.
- Fish: Eat fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and herring at least twice a week.
- Nuts and seeds: Eat a handful of nuts and seeds every day.
- Beans and legumes: Eat a variety of beans and legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, and black beans.
- Healthy fats: Choose healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, and nuts.
Not That
- Processed foods: Avoid processed foods such as chips, crackers, and cookies.
- Red meat: Limit your intake of red meat such as beef, pork, and lamb.
- Saturated fats: Avoid saturated fats such as butter, lard, and coconut oil.
- Sugary drinks: Avoid sugary drinks such as soda, juice, and energy drinks.
- Trans fats: Avoid trans fats found in processed foods such as margarine and shortening.
By making these simple changes to your diet, you can lower your cholesterol after 50 and improve your overall health. Talk to your doctor or dietitian for more information about how to make healthy changes to your diet.
Your body undergoes many significant shifts after you turn 50. For example, your heart health changes as the walls of your heart grow thicker and your arteries begin to stiffen more over time. Because of changes like these, your risk for heart disease will continue to increase.
One major risk factor for heart disease as you age is high cholesterol, which can be caused by genetics, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and excess weight gain. Thankfully, there are ways you can lower your cholesterol levels with your diet.
To find out more about the relationship between food and cholesterol levels, we talked with a couple of dietitians to get their tips on eating habits that can help you lower your cholesterol after 50. Read on, and for more on how to eat healthy, don’t miss The #1 Best Juice to Drink Every Day, Says Science.
Now there’s even more evidence for oatmeal being one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Soluble fiber, which is found in oats, fruits like apples and pears, and many types of legumes, is a helpful nutrient for lowering your cholesterol levels.
“It is one of the biggest factors that can help lower cholesterol because it dissolves in water to form a gel-like material that can bind to cholesterol,” says Amy Goodson, MS, RD, CSSD, LD author of The Sports Nutrition Playbook, “and the goal is to eat 25-38 grams of fiber a day and to make 5-10 of those grams come from soluble fiber.”
Sign up for our newsletter!
According to Courtney D’Angelo, MS, RD, author at Go Wellness, one of the best eating habits for lowering your cholesterol after 50 is switching out unhealthy fats for healthier ones.
“Limit the amount of foods that have saturated fats, which can raise your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, like fried foods, chocolate, and baked goods,” says D’Angelo.
Harvard Health states that “healthy fats,” which include polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, can help lower your risk of disease. D’Angelo suggests replacing saturated and trans fats with these healthier fats, which you can get from foods like olive oil, canola oil, lean meats, nuts, avocados, and fish.
A common mistake made by many Americans is forgetting to incorporate enough fruits and vegetables into their diet. And if you’re trying to lower or prevent high cholesterol, D’Angelo says that getting enough of these foods becomes even more important.
“Consistently eating fruits and veggies can increase important cholesterol-lowering compounds, called plant stanols or sterols, which work like soluble fiber,” she says.
Apples specifically have been known to help with lowering cholesterol because of a specific type of soluble fiber they have called pectin, and grapes have also been found to help decrease LDL cholesterol and improve gut bacteria diversity in recent studies.
If apples and grapes don’t pique your interest, produce like pears, apricots, avocados, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and carrots are all high in soluble fiber as well and can help you manage your cholesterol levels.
Losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way can also help lower your cholesterol after 50. “Research suggests that individuals who lose 5-10% of their body weight can lower their total and bad (LDL) cholesterol levels,” says Goodson.
To jumpstart weight loss, Goodson suggests eating smaller, more frequent meals that are high in fiber and protein, because “both slow digestion, which helps you get full faster and stay full longer.”
You may want to speak with your doctor first before attempting to lose weight. This way you can make sure it’s necessary and that you’re doing so in the healthiest way for your body.