Finally, what I’ve been waiting for – what I CAN eat…. So you’ve heard enough about what foods to avoid and all the favorite foods you shouldn’t eat, but what about the wonderful foods that you can eat? Well aside from the benefits of eating lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, here are the top five foods that will help lower cholesterol according to Mayo clinic. Additionally here is a link that will provide more information about each of these cholesterol combating power foods and why they work. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

1. Oatmeal and oat bran
2. Walnuts, almonds and more
3. Fish, flaxseed -omega-3 fatty acids
4. Olive oil
5. Foods fortified with plant sterols and stanols

But wait, one more thing…How can I use these foods?… So now you know some of the miracle foods but don’t have the slightest clue how to use them. Well here are just a few simple ways you can incorporate these power foods into everyday life. Oatmeal is great because it can be added to many foods or eaten alone. For breakfast, try rolled oats, soy milk and fresh fruit, or add oatmeal anytime you make cookies or bread.
Walnuts and almonds make great snacks alone or try adding them to your salads instead of cheese and croutons. Blend walnuts and add them to muffin recipes or slice almonds and add them to baked fish.

Try incorporating more omega-3 rich fish such as salmon, tuna, trout and mackeral into your meals like fish tacos, fish patties, or by itself. Just make sure to choose baked or grilled instead of fried so you don’t get the extra unneeded saturated fat and calories. If you don’ t like fish you can try flaxseed.

Flaxseed can be added to any breads, cereals or fruit smoothies. It can even be sprinkled on top of some yogurt for a snack. Just make sure that the flaxseed is ground up to reap the benefits from the omega-3 fatty acids.