Updated September 09, 2014.

There’s a lot of information to help you to avoid foods that raise your cholesterol-lowering diet, but really none that talk about what beverages to include or avoid when you are watching your cholesterol. Water, of course, is a no-brainer. But what about other drinks such as coffee, juices, wine, and colas? This article will show you which beverages you can drink that will not greatly affect your cholesterol, and which drinks to avoid.

 

Beverages to Include

There are many beverages that you can include on your cholesterol-lowering diet, allowing you to have a little variety when you are planning your meals. Although the following drinks can be consumed if you are watching your heart health, you still need to be careful of what you add to some of these drinks, since the additives could potentially affect your calorie intake.

Coffee – This beverage is low in cholesterol and fat; however, you should be careful with what you add to it. Commonly added ingredients include milk and cream, which may add fat to your drink.

Tea – Tea is generally free of fat and cholesterol. However, like coffee, ingredients like sugar, milk, and cream can also contribute to increasing your lipids. Lemon, on the other hand, is a healthy way to add flavor – without adding fat.

Naturally Flavored Water – Flavored water is generally low in calories, and free of fat and cholesterol. Additionally, some of these flavored waters are supplemented with the juices of fruits and vegetables to give them flavor.

Before consuming these, you should also check the foods labels of these drinks, since they may have added sugar to them, which can add calories to the beverage.

Juices – Fruit and vegetable juices are not only free of fat and cholesterol, they also contain vitamins and cholesterol-friendly phytosterols. As with flavored water, you should check the label to make sure that refined sugars are not added to the drink. If you want to make your juices even healthier, make sure that you select a juice that is not “pulp-free”, so that you can add extra fiber to your diet, too.

Smoothies – These delicious drinks are chock-full of healthy ingredients – including crushed ice, fruits, veggies, low fat yogurt, soy, and sometimes a handful of nuts. When making or purchasing these, just make sure that no refined sugars, full fat milks or creams are added.

Diet drinks – These beverages are calorie-free, fat-free and cholesterol-free, which make them a good candidate for inclusion into a cholesterol-lowering diet. However, just because you are including a calorie free beverage does not mean that you can make up for it by also consuming fatty snacks or meals.

 

Limit these Beverages

Some beverages should be consumed sparingly, mostly because they are either high in calories, fat, or both ingredients. Fortunately, if one of your favorite drinks is on the list, there are alternatives that you can purchase to make the beverage healthier – without sacrificing too much on taste:

Milkshakes – Milkshakes are ice cream products that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol due to creams and milk being primary ingredients in these beverages.

Regular Colas – Although these drinks are usually free of fat and cholesterol, they make up for it in their high refined sugar content, which could affect your triglycerides if you consume these products regularly. If you are craving the carbonation, you can make your own drinks by mixing the juice from a fruit and mixing in club soda. Additionally, you can also select a “diet” alternative to your cola.

Milk – Milk may be high in calcium, but it is also high in saturated fat. Luckily, if you trying to squeeze calcium in your diet, adding foods such as broccoli and citrus fruits to your meals can help. If you do need to use milk as a beverage or in your meals, switching to 2% or skim milk will help lower the amount of fat and cholesterol consumed.