National Cholesterol Education Awareness Month

Cholesterol Month 2005 extends the theme, "Know your cholesterol numbers, know your risk." This theme emphasizes two of the main thrusts of the cholesterol guidelines: the importance of having your cholesterol measured and knowing your risk of developing heart disease.

If you want to lower high cholesterol or you want to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, National Cholesterol Education Awareness Month is a good time to take dietary steps to achieve your goals.

One of the best cholesterol-friendly foods you can eat is steel-cut oatmeal. Steel-cut oats are high in B-Vitamins, calcium, protein, and fiber. Fiber, particularly soluble fiber found in oats, can help lower blood cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. For those unfamiliar with steel-cut oats, they are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into two or three pieces using steel discs. They are heartier than rolled oats, which are flake oats that have been steamed, rolled, re-steamed and toasted. Less processing gives steel-cut oats a chewy texture and a glycemic index lower than that of rolled oats.

To try steel-cut oatmeal, visit Wellbaskets.com where you can purchase McCann's Original Steel-Cut Oatmeal for $3.99 a box.