BRAIN FOOD TIP OF THE DAY
Yvonne McMeel tells you how to lower your cholesterol

Eating certain foods is one of the easiest ways to help lower your cholesterol level. Some help improve circulation while others up your fibre levels, which reduce the amount of cholesterol that gets into your blood stream.
Brain Food nutritionist Yvonne McMeel offers her top five super foods to help lower cholesterol one mouthful at a time:
1. Soya foods help lower cholesterol as they are naturally low in saturated fat. They also contain special proteins that affect how the body regulates cholesterol too. Studies show you can lower your cholesterol by around 6% by including as little as 15g soya protein per day
2. Improve blood circulation by starting the day with oats. The beta glucan in oats helps to reduce cholesterol absorption on the body
3. Beans are especially rich in soluble fibre and also take time for the body to digest, meaning you feel full for longer after a meal. With so many varieties and ways to prepare them, beans are a very versatile food that help aid weight loss and lower cholesterol
4. Swap your olive oil and butter for vegetable oils such as sunflower, canola and safflower as this helps to lower low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which are ‘bad’ cholesterol.
5. Up your intake of citrus fruits, apples and grapes as they are packed with pectin, a type of soluble fibre that lowers LDL.