Cholesterol is one of those things that your body needs in order to function properly, but if it has too much of it, it can lead to extremely harmful side effects.
For instance, your body needs cholesterol for the cell-building process, but an excess build-up of it can significantly raise your risk for heart disease and stroke.
Thankfully, there are lifestyle changes you can make to help lower your risk of high cholesterol, such as quitting smoking, lowering your consumption of alcohol, and consuming healthier foods and drinks.
"Drinks with antioxidants are the key common denominator to look for if you're trying to balance your cholesterol levels, so cranberry juice without sugar is one of the best drinks for those with high cholesterol," says Courtney D'Angelo, MS, RD, author at Go Wellness.
How cranberry juice can lower levels of "bad" cholesterol.
When it comes to drinking cranberry juice, the key to its cholesterol-lowering properties is in the natural nutrients found in cranberries.
"Cranberries contain potent antioxidants, which have shown to help lower 'bad' cholesterol levels (low-density lipoprotein) and raise the 'good' cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein). This process helps maintain a natural, healthy balance of cholesterol levels," says D'Angelo.
Make sure you're buying the right cranberry juice to reap the benefits.
But if you're going to venture out and incorporate more cranberry juice into your daily diet, be careful to read the labels every time. "It's really important to note that you don't want to have sugar in your cranberry juice, which most of us are accustomed to. The taste may be bitter, but sugar can lower your "good" HDL cholesterol levels, which causes high cholesterol," D'Angelo warns.
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