2008 五月的原文版已改為 燕麥, 堅果, 深海魚, 橄欖油, 橙汁.
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據報導，以往有大量實驗證實，控制食物中的膽固醇含量，可起到降血脂的作用。 而最近一期《美國臨床營養學期刊》上刊發的一篇文章指出，採用低膽固醇飲食1年，最多可使膽固醇降低29%。為此，美國梅約醫學中心專門為高血脂患者推薦了5大降膽固醇明星食物︰

1.燕麥

建議每天最好吃一杯半的燕麥。美國食品和藥品管理局(FDA)批准，燕麥片包裝上可標示“食用燕麥片是改善血脂的一種飲食模式，可減少冠心病的危險。燕麥中富含的水溶性纖維可以“阻止”腸道吸收過多的膽固醇，改變血液中脂肪酸濃度，降低“壞膽固醇”和三酸甘油酯。每天攝取水溶性纖維5-10克，就可使“壞”膽固醇的吸收率降低5%。其他富含水溶性纖維的食物還有︰四季豆、蘋果、桃子、瓜類、菇類、海帶、黑白木耳、紫菜等。
2.堅果

杏仁、花生、胡桃、腰果、栗子等堅果含有多不飽和脂肪酸，可降低膽固醇，還能維持動脈血管的健康和彈性。發表在今年世界心臟病學會年會的一份研究報告指出，10個歐洲國家搜集了近40萬人的資料分析後發現，堅果吃得越多的人，患冠心病的風險越低。 每天吃13克堅果的人，得冠心病的風險比吃不到1克的人少四成。堅果唯一的缺點就是熱量太高。 專家建議不妨每周吃兩次，每次吃8克，大約握在手心松松一把的量，即可獲得豐富的不飽和脂肪酸和抗氧化劑。

3.黃豆

黃豆飽和脂肪量低 ，不含膽固醇，用大豆蛋白取代動物蛋白，可降低血液中總膽固醇、“壞”膽固醇、三酸甘油酯，而又不影響“好”膽固醇的含量。 此外，黃豆所含的大豆異黃酮和纖維素也能降低膽固醇。每天攝取20-50克大豆蛋白質，約可降低4%─8%的“壞膽固醇”和三酸甘油酯。除了黃豆，大豆蛋白質製品還有豆腐、豆漿等。要注意的是，加工過程會影響黃豆中異黃酮、纖維素含量。

4.深海魚

其中的歐米伽─3(OMEGA-3)脂肪酸可以透過影響血脂，降低三酸甘油酯濃度、減緩血液凝集速率、發揮保護心血管的作用，減少冠狀動脈心臟病的發病。深海魚有鮭魚、鮪魚、鯖魚、秋刀魚、海鰻等，每周最好至少吃兩次。

5.橙汁

其中的植物固醇是一種和膽固醇架構類似的化學物質，可以和膽固醇在腸道裡競爭吸收通道，進而減少人體對膽固醇的吸收。 最近有研究指出，每天攝取植物固醇2-3克，可降低6%-15%的“壞”膽固醇，而不影響“好”膽固醇。除了橙汁，含植物固醇的還有堅果、種子、黃豆油、花生油，有的植物奶油裡也添加了植物固醇。

戒脂肪、用好油

梅約醫學中心建議，除了選擇有降膽固醇功效的食物，更需減少攝取膽固醇和飽和 脂肪酸。只有動物性食物來源才含有膽固醇，尤其是動物內臟，例如 100公克豬腦 的膽固醇含量就高達2000毫克，比美國心臟病醫學會建議一天的300毫克的膽固醇量 ，多了將近7倍，最好少吃。平日多食魚肉、雞肉等白肉，少吃紅肉。 動物性油脂如豬油、牛油，還有少數植物油如椰子油、奶油等所含幾乎都是飽和脂 肪酸，多吃容易造成動脈硬化，建議以多元不飽和、不飽和脂肪酸代替。 含大量橄欖油的高單元不飽和脂肪酸飲食，可使心血管疾病危險度降低25％；以單 元不飽和脂肪酸稍低的花生油為主的飲食，也具有下降16～20％心血管疾病危險度 的效用。 其他不飽和脂肪酸的食用油主要來源有芥花油、沙拉油、玉米油、葵花子油等。
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原文出處  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

Cholesterol: The top 5 foods to lower your numbers

Diet can play an important role in lowering your cholesterol. Discover five foods that can lower your cholesterol and protect your heart.

Can a bowl of oatmeal help prevent a heart attack? How about a handful of walnuts, or even your baked potato topped with some heart-healthy margarine? A few simple tweaks to your diet — like these — may be enough to lower your cholesterol to a healthy level and help you stay off medications.

Oatmeal and oat bran

Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol. Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, apples, pears, psyllium, barley and prunes.

Soluble fiber appears to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines. Ten grams or more of soluble fiber a day decreases your total and LDL cholesterol. Eating 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal provides 6 grams of fiber. If you add fruit, such as bananas, you'll add about 4 more grams of fiber. To mix it up a little, try steel-cut oatmeal or cold cereal made with oatmeal or oat bran.

Walnuts, almonds and more

Studies have shown that walnuts can significantly reduce blood cholesterol. Rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, walnuts also help keep blood vessels healthy and elastic. Almonds appear to have a similar effect, resulting in a marked improvement within just four weeks.

A cholesterol-lowering diet in which 20 percent of the calories come from walnuts may reduce LDL cholesterol by as much as 12 percent. But all nuts are high in calories, so a handful (no more than 2 ounces or 57 grams) will do. As with any food, eating too much can cause weight gain, and being overweight places you at higher risk of heart disease. To avoid gaining weight, replace foods high in saturated fat with nuts. For example, instead of using cheese, meat or croutons in your salad, add a handful of walnuts or almonds.

Fish and omega-3 fatty acids

Research has supported the cholesterol-lowering benefits of eating fatty fish because of its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids also help the heart in other ways such as reducing blood pressure and the risk of blood clots. In people who have already had heart attacks, fish oil — or omega-3 fatty acids — significantly reduces the risk of sudden death.

Doctors recommend eating at least two servings of fish a week. The highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids are in mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon. However, to maintain the heart-healthy benefits of fish, bake or grill it. If you don't like fish, you can also get omega-3 fatty acids from foods like ground flaxseed or canola oil.

You can take an omega-3 or fish oil supplement to get some of the beneficial effects, but you won't get all the other nutrients in fish, like selenium. If you decide to take a supplement, just remember to watch your diet and eat lean meat or vegetables in place of fish.

Olive oil

Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants that can lower your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol but leave your "good" (HDL) cholesterol untouched.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends using about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil a day to get its heart-healthy benefits. To add olive oil to your diet, you can saute vegetables in it, add it to a marinade, or mix it with vinegar as a salad dressing. You can also use olive oil as a substitute for butter when basting meat.

Some research suggests that the cholesterol-lowering effects of olive oil are even greater if you choose extra-virgin olive oil, meaning the oil is less processed and contains more heart-healthy antioxidants. But avoid "light" olive oils. This label usually means the oil is more processed and lighter in color, not fat or calories.

Foods fortified with plant sterols or stanols

Foods are now available that have been fortified with sterols or stanols — substances found in plants that help block the absorption of cholesterol.

Margarines, orange juice and yogurt drinks fortified with plant sterols can help reduce LDL cholesterol by more than 10 percent. The amount of daily plant sterols needed for results is at least 2 grams — which equals about two 8-ounce (237 milliliters) servings of plant sterol-fortified orange juice a day.

Plant sterols or stanols in fortified foods don't appear to affect levels of triglycerides or of "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Nor do they interfere with the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins — vitamins A, D, E and K.

The American Heart Association recommends foods fortified with plant sterols for people with levels of LDL cholesterol over 160 milligrams per deciliter (4.1 mmol/L).

Consider your diet first

Before you make other changes to your diet, think about cutting back on the types and amounts of fats you eat, which can raise your cholesterol. That way, you'll improve your cholesterol levels and health overall.

When cutting fat from your diet, focus on saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats, like those in meat and some oils, raise your total cholesterol. Trans fats, which are sometimes used to make store-bought cookies, crackers and cakes, are particularly bad for your cholesterol levels because they raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL), "good" cholesterol. You should try to limit the number of calories you eat daily to less than 10 percent from saturated fat, and eliminate as many trans fats from your diet as possible.