Soy Milk and Cholesterol
We want to reduce our fat and so the full fat milk I was previously consuming is off the menu. It contains saturated fats. Milk does contain protein but that has no effect on cholesterol so I will get that from elsewhere (perhaps nuts).
"LDL-cholesterol was modestly reduced at the end of the soy milk phases
compared to the dairy milk phase" Stanford University
The quote above is taken from a study on the effects of soy milk on cholesterol. Reading that was enough to get me to switch. Another quick search online brought up more pages stating that soy milk can help to lower cholesterol. I bought the cheapest option in the supermarket (which was cheaper than my standard milk) and the Stanford study stated that either type of soy milk will help the same. So it seems that there is no need to choose anything special. Although the Washington Post has an article on a product which advertised a 7% cholesterol reduction, so it is worth keeping an eye out for any products which have a cholesterol label on it.
Oats and Cholesterol
I love the occasional bowl of oats or porridge in the morning. It is warming and seems to fill me up more than standard cereal. Apparently it lowers low density lipoprotein which is a good thing. Oats are packed with fiber which reduces absorption of cholesterol. It seems that a standard bowl of oats will provide around half of the daily soluble fibre needed to reduce LDL cholesterol. I will be eating other healthy foods like fruit which should hopefully provide the rest.
"Daily consumption of a bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol,
because of its soluble fibre content" Wikipedia
For now it seems like oats with soy milk is the best breakfast to help lower cholesterol. I will try adding pieces of fruit next time which should make it even healthier. In the past I have added blueberries to my bowl of oats which I wasn't keen on. I did used to enjoy banana though, so will try that soon. This is likely to help with the taste as I will be using less sugar too.
