Eating 'overlooked' 12p food reduces 'bad' cholesterol before needing statins

Eating 'overlooked' 12p food reduces 'bad' cholesterol before needing statins Heart doctor reveals 12p supermarket staple that could help lower bad cholesterol - plus four more cheap foods to eat A heart specialist has praised a simple, inexpensive kitchen cupboard item for its ability to help lower 'bad' cholesterol. According to statistics published by HEART UK and the British Heart Foundation, close to half (roughly 45% to 50%) of all adults in the UK are living with high cholesterol. High cholesterol is considered a major health risk because it directly damages your blood vessels and significantly increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke. Making healthy lifestyle and dietary changes can help reduce high cholesterol and lower or completely eliminate your need for statins, depending on your overall cardiovascular risk. For many people, adopting heart-healthy habits can trigger a significant enough drop in "bad" LDL cholesterol that their doctor may recommend safely delaying, reducing, or stopping prescription medication. Eating certain foods can significantly reduce "bad" (LDL) cholesterol by changing how your body absorbs, processes, and clears fats. Preventive cardiologist and founder of The National Heart Clinic, Dr Francesco Lo Monaco, says some of the most useful ingredients are humble staples that rarely get the superfood treatment. “People often think looking after their heart means buying expensive supplements or completely overhauling their diet,” he said. “But some of the most practical changes start with ordinary foods you can pick up for very little money. The key is to eat them regularly as part of a balanced diet, rather than expecting one ingredient to do all the work.” Can eating pearl barley help reduce cholesterol? You can pick up a 500g bag of pearl barley at Sainsbury’s for £1.20, meaning a 50g dry portion costs just 12p. Barley contains beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre that helps reduce cholesterol absorption in the gut. When digested, this fibre forms a thick, gel-like substance that binds to cholesterol and bile acids in your gut, preventing them from being absorbed into your bloodstream. To replace those lost bile acids, your liver pulls extra cholesterol directly from your blood, which naturally reduces your overall and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. Consuming 3 grams of beta-glucan daily is clinically recognised by health authorities to provide these heart-healthy benefits. Eating enough beta-glucan regularly can help lower LDL, often called “bad” cholesterol. Dr Lo Monaco said: “Pearl barley is a brilliant example of an overlooked food that offers real nutritional value without costing a fortune. “It is affordable, filling and easy to add to soups, stews and casseroles. Swapping it for some of the rice or pasta you would normally eat is a simple way to introduce more fibre into your diet.” A 500g bag provides around ten 50g dry portions, making it an inexpensive way to bulk out meals while adding fibre. Pearl barley is described as an excellent preventive dietary tool, approved by organisations such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and HEART UK, for reducing cardiovascular risk. Can pearl barley help delay or avoid cholesterol medication? Eating pearl barley might help bring down your "bad" LDL cholesterol when you're trying to improve your health, potentially before you're at risk of needing to take medication, like statins. However, whether it actually works depends on your current cholesterol level and overall heart health risk. If your cholesterol is a little high and you've never had heart problems, doctors usually suggest trying to change what you eat and improving your lifestyle first. Adding barley's soluble fibre can actually help lower your blood cholesterol over a few weeks, studies show. But if your cholesterol is mostly because of your genes or if you have a high chance of getting heart disease, just changing your diet might not be enough to get your cholesterol to a healthy level. In those cases, your doctor will probably tell you to take cholesterol medicine, like statins, along with eating healthy foods like pearl barley. Ensure our latest health headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings What other foods can help reduce cholesterol? 1. Beans and lentils Tinned beans, dried lentils and split peas are cheap sources of fibre and plant protein. They are also naturally low in saturated fat, making them useful replacements for some fatty or processed meats. “Beans and lentils are among the simplest ways to improve the balance of your diet,” Dr Lo Monaco said. “Try replacing some of the meat in a chilli, curry or shepherd’s pie with lentils or beans. You can stretch a meal further while increasing its fibre content.” 2. Ground linseed Also called flaxseed, ground linseed provides fibre and plant-based omega-3 fat. Research suggests it may help improve cholesterol levels, although results vary. Dr Lo Monaco said: “This is an easy addition for people who want to increase their fibre intake without changing their meals dramatically. A little ground linseed stirred into porridge or yoghurt is a simple place to start.” 3. Carrots Carrots are inexpensive, versatile and contain fibre, including some soluble fibre. No single vegetable is a magic cholesterol-lowering food, but eating a variety of vegetables regularly supports a heart-healthy diet. Dr Lo Monaco said: “Carrots are a good reminder that healthy eating does not have to be complicated. Add them to soups, stews and sauces, or eat them as a snack instead of relying on processed options.” 4. Apples Apples contain pectin, a type of soluble fibre that can help lower cholesterol. They are portable, widely available and often cheaper than speciality snacks. “An apple is not going to transform your cholesterol overnight, but small, consistent choices can add up,” Dr Lo Monaco said. “Choose whole fruit more often and build meals around fibre-rich foods rather than looking for a quick fix.” Dr Lo Monaco stresses that diet is only part of the picture. High cholesterol can run in families and often causes no symptoms, so a blood test is the only way to know your levels. “Changing what you eat can help, but it is not a substitute for medication when medication is needed,” he said. “If you have been told your cholesterol is high, speak to your healthcare professional about your overall risk and the best way to manage it.” How can you reduce cholesterol naturally? To reduce cholesterol naturally, medical science recommends adopting a combination strategy, such as the Portfolio Diet, which can lower "bad" LDL cholesterol by 13% to 30% within 2 to 12 weeks. This approach relies on four daily pillars: consuming 10 to 20 grams of soluble fibre (such as barley, oats, and lentils), taking 1.5 to 3 grams of plant sterols, eating a handful of tree nuts, and swapping animal proteins for soy and plant proteins. Crucially, you must also reduce your intake of saturated fats (such as butter and fatty meats) and replace them with unsaturated fats, such as olive oil. Combining these dietary swaps with at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise weekly and modest weight loss optimises your liver's fat metabolism, successfully lowering harmful blood lipids while boosting "good" HDL cholesterol. It is important to note that while eating 'superfoods' like pearl barley can help lower "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and may help improve your numbers before or alongside medical treatment, it is a modest dietary measure rather than a full replacement for statins if you are at high cardiovascular risk.