Cholesterol: the foods that lower it, and the ones that raise it

Oats, psyllium, barley and pulses lowered LDL in human trials. Coconut oil and eggs raised it. Both sides belong in the same table.

This page is not for diagnosis or treatment. Food does not replace medication. If you are under treatment, talk to your doctor before changing your diet substantially.

What it is

Cholesterol is a lipid the body uses to build cell membranes and hormones. It does not dissolve in water, so it travels through the blood inside particles called lipoproteins. LDL carries cholesterol from the liver out to the tissues; HDL carries it back. The total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride figures on a blood panel are different measurements of those particles. Much of the cholesterol in your body was made by your liver rather than eaten, which is why the cholesterol content of a food does not map neatly onto what shows up in blood.

Where the evidence stands

This is the thickest body of evidence on the site. Of 161 ingredients, 24 have human trials that moved a lipid marker — or that failed to.

Soluble fibre is the firmest finding. Beta-glucan in oats, barley and psyllium husk all lowered LDL at meta-analysis level, and the mechanism is the same in each: they make the gut contents viscous, trap bile acids and carry them out, and since the liver rebuilds bile acids from cholesterol, cholesterol is consumed doing it.

Pulses are consistent too. Lentils, chickpeas, tofu and soybeans all point the same way. The effect is modest — about 3 to 4 percent of LDL.

Red yeast rice is a different kind of thing. Its effect is large because fermentation produces monacolin K, which is chemically the same molecule as the cholesterol drug lovastatin. It is closer to a medicine than a food, and it overlaps with a statin.

And some foods raise it. Coconut oil raised LDL by 10.5 mg/dL, and across 17 randomised trials, increasing egg intake raised LDL by 8.14 mg/dL. Neither usually appears in an article about foods that lower cholesterol.

Some claims did not hold. Aubergine does not soak up fat and carry cholesterol out; the best-designed oyster mushroom trial found nothing; and green peas failed to lower LDL in the very trial where beans succeeded. Cashews are a case where "nuts are good for cholesterol" simply did not transfer.

What the evidence shows

These are the benefit entries from the ingredient articles, unchanged. Strongest grade first, and results that found nothing, or went the other way, are included.

Strong evidenceRed yeast rice
LDL falls by 1.02 mmol/L — because it is the same substance as a statin[1]
Strong evidencePsyllium
LDL cholesterol falls — a meta-analysis of 28 trials and 1,924 people[2][3]
Strong evidenceOats
Beta-glucan lowers LDL cholesterol[4]
Strong evidenceBarley
It lowers LDL and non-HDL cholesterol[5]
Strong evidenceLentils
It lowers LDL cholesterol[6][7]
Strong evidenceChickpeas
As a pulse, they lower LDL cholesterol[6][7]
Strong evidenceTofu
It lowers LDL cholesterol — by about 3–4 %[8]
Strong evidenceCanola oil
It lowers LDL cholesterol — more than olive oil does[9]
Strong evidenceCheese
At equal fat, LDL was lower on cheese than on butter[10]
Strong evidenceCoconut oil
It raises LDL cholesterol by 10.5 mg/dL[11]
Moderate evidenceAlmond
They lower LDL cholesterol[12]
Moderate evidenceWalnut
It nudges LDL cholesterol down[13]
Moderate evidencePistachios
LDL, total cholesterol and triglycerides fell — by a little[14]
Moderate evidenceFlaxseed
It lowers total cholesterol and triglycerides[15][16]
Moderate evidenceSoybeans
LDL falls by roughly 3–4%[8]
Moderate evidenceArtichoke
Nine trials, 702 people: total cholesterol −17.6, LDL −14.9 — and HDL unchanged[17]
Moderate evidenceAdzuki bean
Pulse intake lowered LDL — but no trial named adzuki[7][6]
Moderate evidenceQuail eggs
Eating more egg raised LDL by 8.14 mg/dL — across 17 randomised trials[18]
Moderate evidenceShrimp
High in cholesterol, yet the lipoprotein ratios held[19]
Moderate evidenceOctopus
The "high in cholesterol" warning — the randomised trials say something else[18]
Not establishedGreen peas
Peas did not lower LDL — beans, in the same trial, did[20][6]
Not establishedOyster mushroom
The cholesterol claim — the best-designed trial found nothing[21][22]
Not establishedEggplant
"Eggplant soaks up oil, so it absorbs and removes cholesterol" — that is not what happens
Not establishedCashew
"Nuts are good for cholesterol" — that does not transfer to cashews[23]

What food can and cannot do

Start with the size of the effect.

Food moves LDL by roughly 3 to 10 percent. A statin moves it by 30 to 50. That does not mean diet replaces the drug, and the two figures should not be read as interchangeable.

If you are on medication, do not reduce or stop it because of something you ate. Good numbers may mean the drug is working.
Red yeast rice contains the same molecule as a statin. Taken together they stack, and the content varies enormously between products. Talk to your doctor first.
When high cholesterol is inherited, as in familial hypercholesterolaemia, diet barely moves it. Very high LDL at a young age is a reason to see a doctor before changing your diet.
Replacing matters more than adding. The gain from swapping a cooking fat or cutting saturated fat is often larger than the gain from adding oats.

This page is not for diagnosis or treatment. If a blood panel came back high, discuss it with a clinician.

Related nutrients

Sources

The databases and health authorities this article's nutrition figures and health statements draw on.