The Healthiest Way To Cook Eggs If You Have High Cholesterol

Eggs make a healthy breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depending on how you prepare them. Adding colorful vegetables to an omelet can keep you full until lunch, thanks to the protein in the eggs and fiber from the vegetables. Filling your plate with eggs, sausage, biscuits, and gravy might satisfy your taste buds but not your heart. Many accompaniments to eggs can be high in saturated fat, which has been linked to high cholesterol.

If you have high cholesterol, the American Heart Association suggests cutting back on foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat. A large egg has 186 milligrams of cholesterol but only 1.5 grams of saturated fat. To keep your dietary cholesterol low, you can separate the egg white from the egg yolk and scramble a few egg whites using cooking spray. You can also poach or hard-boil the eggs and pop out the egg yolk. Two egg whites have more protein than one egg but have zero cholesterol and saturated fat.

While a couple of egg whites cooked without butter or oil might not make a full meal, you can add some cholesterol-lowering foods to fill out your plate. Some of these foods will lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol, while others will raise your HDL cholesterol to improve your heart health.

Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol in your small intestine and leaves your body through your poop. That means there's less cholesterol to enter your bloodstream. Oatmeal is a good source of this soluble fiber, so a small bowl of oatmeal with your egg whites is a good way to start your day by managing your cholesterol. Beans are also high in soluble fiber, so you can add beans as a side dish as well.

Foods high in monounsaturated fats, such as avocado, can help increase your HDL cholesterol. A diet rich in tomatoes, which have the powerful antioxidant lycopene, might also improve your HDL cholesterol by 15%, according to a 2006 study in Clinical and Investigative Medicine.

You can combine all these foods into one heart-healthy breakfast. Scramble your egg whites in a small skillet while you prepare your oatmeal. While the egg is cooking, peel and slice your avocado into bite-sized pieces. Slice some grape tomatoes in two, and add a can of rinsed black beans into an air fryer dish. Let the grape tomatoes and black beans air fry for a few minutes until the black beans get a little crispy. Serve the tomato-bean mixture on top of the egg whites, and add the avocado on the side. If you need something to sweeten your oatmeal, microwave a frozen banana for a minute and stir it into your oatmeal (here are other things to add to your oatmeal).

Even if your cholesterol is under control now, the AHA says that an unhealthy diet can take its toll as you age. Your liver becomes less efficient at removing bad cholesterol from your blood, so you might see your cholesterol levels inching up year by year. After age 40, it's a good idea to keep an eye on your cholesterol and cut back on foods that increase cholesterol, such as full-fat dairy, fried foods, processed meats, and baked goods. Although eggs are high in cholesterol, dietary cholesterol isn't the same as cholesterol in your blood, according to the AHA. What matters more is the overall nutrition in your diet, sticking with foods low in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.

Diet isn't the only factor in lowering your cholesterol. People who don't exercise tend to have higher cholesterol levels, and exercise helps to increase your HDL cholesterol. Smoking raises your LDL cholesterol and lowers your HDL levels, so quitting smoking will help get your cholesterol levels down to a healthy level. You'll want to cut back on the number of drinks at happy hour. Drinking more than one drink per day for women or two for men can cause your cholesterol levels to creep up. Finally, find ways to manage stress and get enough sleep.