What is the connection between eating fiber and lowering cholesterol level?
• Answer: Most of the cholesterol we make is turned into bile acids to help us digest fats. Let's see what happens to it then.
Scenario #1: We are eating plenty of soluble fiber. When these bile acids reach the small intestine, the soluble fiber binds them and escorts them out of our bodies, thus helping to avoid an unwanted buildup of cholesterol.
Scenario #2: We're not eating enough soluble fiber. The bile acids reach the small intestines, there's not much soluble fiber around, and the digestive system treats them as just some more nutrients to digest. It recycles them, sends them back to the liver, and the excess is turned into- You guessed it- cholesterol. This is one kind of recycling we can live without!
More about fiber here...