Managing your weight and general health often comes down to monitoring and balancing your cholesterol levels, especially as you age, leaving you at the mercy of unending and ever-changing information regarding best practices in both food consumption and exercise. While many foods and activities are obviously beneficial to the body, there are a few tips and tricks that you may not be aware of when it comes time to tackle excess fat and cholesterol – tips and tricks that promise to make the job of looking and feeling your best a faster and easier one.

Whether you get your information from the internet, your family doctor or another source, you can count on these 10 best foods to help you to reduce cholesterol:

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1. Beans

While it is a crucial part of any healthy diet, fiber can be difficult to find in many modern foods, leaving you to turn towards the few foods that are truly fiber-rich to keep your fiber intake on the level. With that in mind, there is no hot meal more full of fiber than simple beans

No matter how you choose to consume them, eating one cup of any kind of beans each day is a sure way to help you to lower your cholesterol by providing your body with the fiber it needs to help bind acids and cholesterol in the intestinal tract, helping you to get rid of the unneeded amounts by keeping it from being absorbed into your body.

Sticking to a plan of a single cup of kidney, navy, black, chickpea or any other combination of beans each day can help you to lower your cholesterol levels by a staggering 10 percent in only six weeks.

2. Soy

Long touted as a replacement to meats and cheeses for vegetarians, the wonderful effects of soy for the more carnivorous among us is often lost. The benefits of soy are two-fold, instantly helping you to cut your blood cholesterol by replacing otherwise fattening foods like red meats while adding compounds called isoflavones that can help to reduce pre-existing LDL cholesterol levels.

While the idea of replacing a delicious hamburger with a soy-based alternative may not appeal to your taste buds, it’s worth noting that soy products have come a very long way since their introduction to the mass food market, making for tastier offerings than you’re likely able to imagine!

3. Garlic

Well-known since ancient times for its beneficial effects on the human body, garlic has the ability to not only reduce blood cholesterol levels, but also to prevent blood clots and lower your blood pressure, all by preventing cholesterol particles from sticking to artery walls and becoming absorbed into your body. Used also to help fight various types of bacterial infections, from those of the ears, nose and throat to internal infections, garlic is an important staple in any healthy diet.

While it will serve you best when consumed in a fresh state, items like garlic butter and garlic powder also provide the same effects, although the additional content of those products may be a dietary no-no for those of us also looking to lose weight.

4. Avocado

Full of healthy fats and so-called “good” HDL cholesterol, the simple avocado is a wonderful source of beta-sitosterol and monounsaturated fats, making it the most important fruit that can be added to the diet of someone looking to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

While they can be eaten raw and are enjoyed by many that way, the most common form of pure, delicious avocado is found in guacamole, that delicious dip that often accompanies a full Mexican-style meal.

It should be noted that, while full of the good stuff mentioned above, avocados are high in calories and so should be consumed in moderation by those looking to lose weight.

5. Spinach

With its health benefits never in doubt given its high level of antioxidants, spinach is a food that also promises to aid in lowering cholesterol by providing lutein, a yellow pigment common in leafy green vegetables. Helping to prevent heart attacks and other arterial problems by helping artery walls to dislodge otherwise sticky cholesterol particles, a half of a cup of lutein-rich foods can also help to protect you against blindness in old age, making it a source of healthy goodness that simply cannot be passed up by anyone serious about reducing their cholesterol levels.