To help control your cholesterol, try adding legumes—or beans—like chickpeas, pinto, kidney, lima, garbanzo, lentil and Northern beans. Findings from Tulane University suggest eating three cups of beans a week may help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. In one study of 300 men and women, patients who ate a legume-rich diet dropped, on average, 14 points in only three weeks.