Control LDL cholesterol level

We’ll start with the good and tasty news: Pecans (as in a pecan-pomegranate salad or the newly available pecan milk, not the sugar-disaster that’s pecan pie) can help you stay healthy in important ways. And since 80% of the world’s supply is grown in the U.S., pecans are never in short supply.

A study out of the University of Georgia (natch!) found that eating 2.4 ounces of pecans daily for eight weeks slashed LDL cholesterol levels by 6 to 9%, substantially reducing the risk of coronary artery disease.

Benefits beyond heart health: Lowering your LDL level does more than protect your heart health; it may help protect you from cancer. A study in Nature Communications reveals that chronically high cholesterol levels increase the risks of breast cancer and lead to worse outcomes from most types of cancer, because the cholesterol protects metastasizing cancer cells, allowing them to spread.

To send lousy cholesterol down, good cholesterol up: 1. Add pecans (and walnuts) to your plant-centered diet; ditch red and processed meats and added sugars. 2. Walk at least an hour a day five days a week to lower LDL cholesterol and consider cycling to raise heart-lovin’ HDL cholesterol.

If you take those steps but still have trouble getting your LDL to 100 or lower, ask your doc about taking a statin. It not only clears out excess LDL, it reduces inflammation and might help treat and inhibit some cancers and help manage liver disease. If you’re intolerant of statins, ask about the new alternative meds.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.