Best Smoothies for Lowering Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a complicated issue. There has long been an association between high cholesterol and things such as heart disease.

As a result, there has been thousands upon thousands of books, articles, and news specials devoted to recipes and lifestyle changes.

The entire Mediterranean Diet fad (not to say it’s a bad fad) came about when people were looking to lower their cholesterol.

People saw that certain cultures (Italians, Greece, etc.…) had diets that corelated to lower levels of bad cholesterol.

While exercise is an important part of helping modulate and improve your cholesterol, diet is very important as well.

That’s why I’m going to focus on food here for the time being. And even more specifically, I am going to focus on what types of smoothies you should be drinking if you’re interested in lowering your cholesterol.

 

HDL and LDL: The Good and The Bad

Before we dive into what types of smoothies are best for lowering your cholesterol, it’s a good idea to understand what we mean when we talk about cholesterol.

HDL stand for High Density Lipoprotein.  These are the “good cholesterol”. This sort of cholesterol does not create plaque in your arteries.  Certain foods can improve your HDL levels. Also, certain types of foods (processed junk foods, meat) can lower your HDL.

LDL stands for Low Density Lipoprotein. These are the “bad cholesterol” that you hear so much about. It’s having a high LDL level that is dangerous.

In fact, some people might have a high total cholesterol and be in better shape than those with a lower total if their LDL is high and their HDL is low.

So, it’s important to know the breakdown on your cholesterol and not just the total number.

 

The KETO Question: Is All Cholesterol Equal?

The above question is important and ties into the HDL and LDL ratio. Keto diets are super high in fat, and yet the advocates say that it’s not fat itself that causes cholesterol. This is a bit of a hotly debated topic.

On one side there are scientists who say that dietary fat does not cause an increase in cholesterol. Podcasts such as Joe Rogan have on experts advocating eating pure meat (carnivore diets) and also debates between vegans and pro carnivores.

You even had a well-regarded, yet somewhat controversial book called Big Fat Surprise that spoke of saturated fats such as cheeseburgers, hamburgers and other meats.

Some studies (these for instance) are worth reviewing if you have the time.

For my purpose here, Keto isn’t a huge issue. As I advocate a mostly vegetarian diet, it’s going to be nearly impossible to follow a keto diet where fats make up most of your macros.

Keto, in my opinion, focuses too little on plants and fruits and health grains.

Essentially a vegetarian keto diet would be mostly avocado, coconut oil, eggs, and cheese. You would be missing out on so many amazing foods! Berries, leafy geens, and nuts!

 

Best Things To Add To Your Smoothie To Help Lower Cholesterol

Smoothies in and of themselves are not going to lower your cholesterol. It’s only when they contain certain things might they help. If your smoothie is chuck full of coconut oil, full fat milk, chocolate, and maybe a single berry…then yeah..it’s not going to be much help.

We should remember that smoothies are simply a type of meal, and there is a wide variety of smoothies to consider.

My standard go to green smoothie would be a good choice. It’s made with kale, some coconut water, and maybe a lemon. But if you’re especially concerned about your cholesterol, then here are some things to consider.

 Oats

It seems that everyone knows that oats can help to lower your cholesterol. And that’s true. Here’s a link to a well known study that followed a randomized control procedure.

Basically, eating oats is good for you. There’s a reason everyone from weightlifters, bodybuidlers, endurance athletes, dieters, and your grandparents told you to eat your oats.

If you’re looking for a recipe to create the best smoothie for lowering your cholesterol, then it’s got to include oats.

The reason I like adding them to a smoothie is that you get a great silky texture, and oats blend up super smooth in smoothies.

Honestly, many people don’t like to eat cooked oatmeal. And some who do only like to eat it with tons of sugar or milk. That’s why adding oats to a smoothie is so great. You can basically “sneak in some oats”.

When you’re adding oats to a smoothie, don’t go overboard and go crazy adding a cup of raw oats. At least not at first. Try adding a few tablespoons to see how you like the texture. It’s going to thicken up your smoothie.

And the great thing about adding oats to your smoothie is that you can use regular oats. You don’t need to use quick cook oats.

 

Nuts (Almonds)

You will often hear that nuts are good for improving your overall cholesterol. While that might seem counter intuitive since nuts have a lot of fat, and fat tends to correspond to higher levels of cholesterol, it’s the type of fat that nuts have.

Nuts have healthy, good fat. They have Omega 3 Fatty Acids. The same thing that you read about when people write glowing reviews of fish oil or olive oil.

The reason that I like to add almonds as apposed to other nuts is for a few reasons.

First, almonds are one of the two most praised nuts. Along with walnuts, almonds constitute the “super food” portion of the nut category.

Some people like cashews, but there is not as much positive research surrounding cashews, pecans, or other nuts.

In fact, there is some research that things like pistachios actually are bad for some issues, including prostate and testosterone (so, guys out there, be cautious).

Almonds and walnuts on the other hand, are studied and proven to be super foods.

Almonds are my favorite food for lowering cholesterol. And I love adding them to smoothies.

There are a few tricks that I’ve leaned over the years when it comes to adding almonds to smoothies.

1. Soak the almonds beforehand. This helps to soften up the almonds. This way the blender does not need to spend as much time blending and processing the almonds in order to get a smooth consistency.
2. Get Sliced Almonds. This trick works great because sliced almonds are easier to blend up than regular almonds. They are not dense and solid like regular almonds and therefore present less problem for most blender blades.

  

Apples

While all fruit is good for lowering your cholesterol, apples provide a key benefit that many other fruits don’t. In fact, you might say that the underlying reason that apples prove to be so popular is that they are low in calories, low in sugars, and they help to lower your bad cholesterol.

The phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” does in fact ring true. And it’s the special type of fiber found in apples that is mostly responsible for the benefit.

In fact, the same reason that apples make you poop and are a well-known laxative are the same reasons that you should want them in your smoothie in order to lower cholesterol.

It’s that fiber. But in particular, it’s the soluble fiber in apples that helps to lower cholesterol. And as I’ve blogged about before, blenders do not destroy fiber. 

The soluble fiber is the type that’s absorbed in the blood, it’s soluble. As opposed to insoluble fiber, which is passed through the body and is especially beneficial for the colon.

The reason that I like adding apples to a smoothie is that they are not always easy to eat on their own.

Yes, some people love to eat apples, but that’s not the case for everyone. An apple in a salad might not be a whole apple.

And the studies that speak about apples lowering cholesterol have all been tied to eating 2 apples a day. That’s a number that is easy to hit with a smoothie, but not so easy if you’re stuck on eating a whole two apples extra a day.

Apples actually blend up really well in a smoothie. I’ve added everything from granny smith apples to Macintosh apples.

 Yogurt In A Smoothie Lowers Cholesterol

It’s not just oats, fruits, and nuts that help to lower cholesterol. You can actually find a nice protein source and a fat at the same time that helps lower your cholesterol: Yogurt.

It’s one of the best healthy protein sources to add to your smoothie, if you’re looking for that sort of thing.

And it’s important to remember that not all fat is bad. In fact, without fat, the body can’t really function properly. That’s why you need health fat in your diet.

Why many people recommend that you choose something such as avocados and nuts, another one that often comes up is yogurt. And it’s much better, in my opinion, than avocados in a smoothie.

Just make sure that when you are getting a yogurt you choose one that is not filled with sugar. So, ideally choose a plain yogurt. Remember it’s the healthy fat that is helping you improve your good cholesterol and not the sugar added to make it taste good.