13 Best Low Cholesterol Breakfast Items For a Heart-Healthy Morning

If you’ve ever taken a walk down the cereal aisle, you’ve probably noticed the big red “Can Help Lower Cholesterol” banner plastered onto the front of Cheerios boxes or the plethora of other “Heart-healthy” labels found on many packaged breakfast items on store shelves.

It might have left you wondering whether these were just marketing tactics or if there are really ready-to-eat breakfast options out there that are good for your heart.

If you’re set on tracking down all the best heart-healthy food options out there, you’re surely not the only one, given that heart disease causes 1 in every 4 deaths nationwide, making it the leading cause of death in the US (1).

Levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good” cholesterol, are major players in heart disease risk, and 93 million US adults have levels that are outside of the healthy ranges (2, 3).

Intuitively, one might assume that eating foods that are high in cholesterol would be the primary cause of elevated cholesterol in the body. However, there’s actually not enough evidence to show that dietary cholesterol – the amount of cholesterol we get from our food – increases our blood cholesterol or risk of heart disease (3).

What is clear, though, is that most high-cholesterol foods are also heavy in saturated fatty acids, a component that does have a large body of evidence pointing towards its negative effects on heart health (3).

When it comes to breakfast, our choices have a momentous impact on our LDL cholesterol.

For one, opting for foods that are high in unsaturated fatty acids and fiber, while low in saturated fat, can result in a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol (4).

What’s more, studies have found that skipping breakfast altogether is associated with higher LDL cholesterol levels (5, 6). In other words, something is better than nothing, even if it’s not as elaborate as the superfood breakfast you see on every food blogger’s Instagram.

In fact, a nourishing low-cholesterol breakfast can be as simple as throwing granola into a yogurt cup or warming up a quick bowl of oatmeal.

You’ll have a solid heart-healthy morning routine in no time with this list of the most nutritious low-cholesterol breakfast items you can buy, plus tips for putting together a great breakfast to lower your cholesterol.

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Cereals & oats

1. Food For Life Ezekiel – 4:9 Cereal Crunchy

2. Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods – Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats

3. Bakery On Main – Rolled Oats

4. Seven Sundays – Real Cinnamon Cereal

5. Nature’s Path – Organic Flax Plus Pumpkin Granola

6. Mccabe’s Granola – Delta Blueberry

Pancake Waffle Mix

7. Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix

Smoothies & milks

8. Noka – Superfood Smoothie Organic Mango Coconut Pouch

9. Kuli – Organic Moringa Green Smoothie Mix

10. Ripple – Chocolate Pea Milk

Nut butters & Fruit spreads

11. Sunbutter – Organic Sunflower Butter

12. St Dalfour Red Raspberry Fruit Spread

Bread

13. Wasa Whole Grain Crispbread

How to choose a low cholesterol breakfast

Because dietary cholesterol itself has not been proven to affect cholesterol in the body, it’s important to make note of what components do influence cholesterol levels and contribute to heart health. Here are the main factors to consider when shopping for breakfasts to lower cholesterol:

• Saturated fat. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat intake to less than 6% of total daily calories in order to reduce LDL cholesterol levels (7). On a 2,000 calorie diet, that would mean consuming no more than 13 grams of saturated fat per day (8).
• Fiber. Because high fiber foods are linked to lower LDL cholesterol, getting that fiber intake in at breakfast is highly important for heart health (4). Try incorporating whole grain toast, oats, nuts, and seeds into your early morning meals for an extra boost of fiber.

Additionally, there’s some other considerations to make if you’re looking for breakfast options to promote heart health in general, beyond lowering cholesterol:

• Added sugar. Consuming an excessive amount of added sugar is linked to increased risk for heart disease (9) and store-bought breakfast items are a top source for added sugar ingredients like maple syrup, honey, and high fructose corn syrup. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar intake to less than 6 teaspoons daily for women and less than 9 teaspoons for men (10).
• Sodium. For those experiencing high blood pressure, cutting down on sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day help alleviate this and result in improved heart health (11, 12). 
• Omega-3 fatty acids. Incorporating foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to improve heart health due to their ability to raise HDL cholesterol – the “good” cholesterol that helps transport LDL cholesterol out of the bloodstream (13). Here are a few examples of how you can increase omega-3s in your breakfast (14):
  • Mix flax or chia seeds into your oatmeal, cereal, or smoothie.
  • Top your whole grain toast with smoked salmon or avocado.
  • Seek out breakfast staples that are fortified with omega-3s – you’ll usually find this in eggs, juice, milk/milk alternatives, and yogurt.
    

Key takeaways for finding low cholesterol breakfast options

When it comes down to finding heart-healthy meal options, knowing how to choose the right breakfast is key.

There are two key dietary changes that can help lower LDL cholesterol, which is associated with increased heart disease risk when levels are too high: decreasing saturated fat intake and increasing fiber intake.

Additionally, added sugar and sodium are two other components that can negatively impact heart health when consumed in excess.

With these tips and our list of the most nutritious low-cholesterol breakfast items, you’ll be ready to start your day off right with a nutrient-dense breakfast that lowers LDL cholesterol, protects your heart, and excites your tastebuds.

There are 1,000s of food products that won’t be right for you

Let GreenChoice find the ones that are

Tell us your dietary needs & values and we’ll show you foods that match!

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GreenChoice, PBC has evaluated and rated more than 340,000 food & beverage products across hundreds of attributes related to diet, health, and sustainability. Easily find the best products for you, the planet, & your budget. Sign up to access the GreenChoice marketplace, the first carbon-neutral online grocery marketplace for healthy, climate-friendly shopping.

Sydney W

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Merve

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