09/03/2010
Snack your way to a lower cholesterol level
We all have good intentions about eating healthily and making sure we get our five a day but when we get the munchies we can find ourselves reaching for crisps and biscuits instead to snack on. Nutritionist Fiona Hunter has come up with some quick and easy ideas for healthy snacks which not only taste great but will help lower your cholesterol levels too.
Fiona advises, “A raised cholesterol level is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Saturated ‘animal’ fats – the type of fat found in full fat dairy products and fatty cuts of meat - has been shown to increase levels to LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol and reduce HDL ‘good’ cholesterol. Unsaturated fats, found in foods such as olive oil, help to lower LDL cholesterol. Soluble fibre found in oats, oat bran, beans, pulses and some fruit and vegetables can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels encouraging the body to excrete cholesterol before it can be absorbed into the blood stream. Choose a breakfast cereal rich in soluble fibre like porridge or muesli, try adding beans and pulses to soups and casseroles and make sure your snacks are full of soluble fibre. Just one 250ml glass of Oatly oat drink provides a third (1g) of the daily requirement of beta-glucans (a type of soluble fibre) which has been shown to help reduce raised cholesterol levels”.
Try Fiona’s delicious snack ideas as part of your healthy lifestyle to help lower your cholesterol level:
• Banana muffin (recipe here)
• Two oatcakes topped with reduced fat hummus
• Blueberry smoothie made with Oatly oat drink (recipe here)
• Small bag of fruit and nuts
• Glass of Oatly Chocolate drink
• Two oatcakes spread with peanut butter
• Apple and cranberry muffin
• Two oatcakes topped with mashed banana
• Strawberry smoothie made with Oatly oat drink (recipe here)
• Low fat yogurt
• Banana
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