So what is it in fruits and vegetables that lowers cholesterol? Fruits and vegetables contain a variety of vitamins and minerals that are needed to build, maintain and repair our bodies. Vitamin C for example is needed to create collagen, the sticky substance that keeps your arteries walls strong and elasticated and reduces the risk of atherosclerosis forming. Potassium is essential for carrying nerve signals to your muscles such as the heart. So low potassium levels can result in an irregular heartbeat or even a heart attack.

In the case of specifically lowering cholesterol the two most important components in fruits and vegetables are antioxidants and fiber. Studies show that people who switch to high fiber diets almost always display an accompanied lowering of overall cholesterol levels. Researchers explain that when you eat more fiber it improves your transit time. This has a positive effect on cholesterol levels by removing cholesterol that reaches the colon (through the food you eat) out of the body before it has a chance to be absorbed into the blood stream.

So be sure to eat plenty of whole fruits and vegetables and rather than rely on juicing recipes to get plenty of fiber in your diet. Juicing sacrifices fiber content but in return provides an exceptional amount of antioxidants. These antioxidants are extremely beneficial in keeping your heart healthy and so a balanced combination of juicing and eating whole fruits can really help lower cholesterol.

There are quite literally thousands, if not tens of thousands, of different kinds of antioxidants. As far as lowering cholesterol levels go, the antioxidants vitamin C, bio-flavonoids and carotenoids are among the most effective. They all have the ability to protect cholesterol cells from becoming damaged by free radicals. This damage would otherwise cause the cholesterol cells to harden and attach to the artery walls creating atherosclerosis. To find a variety of juice recipes that will supply you with an abundance of these antioxidants a good place to visit is green juice recipes.