In today’s society, with the improvement of people’s living standards and changes in diet structure, there are more and more patients with abnormal blood lipids. Abnormal blood lipids refer to the abnormal elevation of lipid components in the blood, including cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, etc.
Abnormal blood lipids are important risk factors for atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, it is very important to control blood lipids for patients with abnormal blood lipids.
Patients with abnormal blood lipids often need to lower their blood lipids through diet control and medication. In terms of diet, many people believe that oats are a good food for lowering lipids. Oats are rich in dietary fiber and unsaturated fatty acids, which can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, thereby helping to reduce blood lipids. However, recent studies have found that the lipid-lowering champion is not oats but sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are a nutritious food, rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and other nutrients, as well as a substance called mucin protein, which can bind with cholesterol and promote its excretion, thus helping to lower blood lipids.
Research has found that consuming sweet potatoes daily can lower blood lipid levels. In a study on patients with abnormal blood lipids, researchers divided the participants into two groups, one group ate 300 grams of sweet potatoes daily, while the other group ate 300 grams of oats daily.
After 8 weeks of study, the results showed that the group that ate sweet potatoes had significantly lower blood lipid levels, while the group that ate oats did not show significant changes in blood lipid levels. In addition, other studies have found that the mucin protein and dehydroepiandrosterone in sweet potatoes also have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects, which can protect the cardiovascular system and thus help reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
There are many ways to consume sweet potatoes, they can be eaten boiled directly, or made into mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato porridge, and other foods. For patients with abnormal blood lipids, it is recommended to consume around 300 grams of sweet potatoes daily as a staple food or side dish.
It is important to note that sweet potatoes contain a lot of starch and sugar, so excessive consumption may lead to high blood sugar levels, diabetic patients should consume them in moderation. Furthermore, sweet potatoes contain a lot of dietary fiber, excessive consumption may cause bloating, diarrhea, and other discomfort, so they should be consumed in moderation.
In addition to sweet potatoes, there are other foods that can also help lower blood lipid levels. For example, fish, nuts, vegetables, and fruits contain rich unsaturated fatty acids and dietary fiber, which can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, thereby helping to reduce blood lipids. Moreover, whole grains, legumes, lean meat, and other foods also contain certain amounts of dietary fiber and unsaturated fatty acids, which can lower blood lipid levels.