Cholesterol Diet Plans – What Works?
If you’ve recently heard from your doctor that your cholesterol levels are too high, you’ve probably also been told it’s time to change your eating habits so you can lower them.
But you may be asking, “Exactly how do I do that? What foods will help me lower my cholesterol? What foods can I eat? What foods should I avoid? Where do I find the information I need?”
Don’t worry. It’s not as hard to design a good diet for high cholesterol as you may think. There hundreds – possibly thousands – of readily-accessible resources at your disposal to teach you what you need to know.
But understand up front that planning a good diet for high cholesterol is not difficult. It’s actually sticking with the diet that separates those who will be successful from the “wannabes.”
Changing to a low cholesterol diet is the real challenge. But it’s important to try because cholesterol health matters. It may even be life-saving. Here’s why.
When you eat meals that result in high cholesterol, you raise your risk of developing conditions like atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and heart disease, along with a variety of other diseases and disorders. These conditions can limit your longevity along with your quality of life.
There’s no question that it’s tough stick to your diet when you’re bombarded by hundreds of advertising messages everyday inviting you to “slip.” But once you commit to lowering your cholesterol, you’ll be pleased to find out that many healthy foods taste pretty good after all.
Before looking at specific foods, let’s take a look at four different kinds of fats that come in most of the food we eat. This is important. When you know which fats are good and which fats are bad, you can choose foods that are good and avoid those that aren’t. You may not have been aware of it, but not all fats are bad. In fact, several of them are actually good for you.
First, we’ll look at the bad fats.
Saturated fats – These are typically found in animal meat (especially red meat), coconut oil, palm oil and so on .
Trans fats – This is the type of fat you get in some of our most beloved foods like baked goods (cake, muffins, doughnuts, croissants etc.). Trans fats are also used often in fast food restaurants, especially the ones that offer french fries. Many pre-packaged convenience foods contain excessive amounts of trans fats (not to mentionlots of blood pressure-raising salt).
The Good Stuff
Good fats include:
Polyunsaturated fats – These come from vegetable oils & fish oils. They reduce cholesterol when consumed moderately.
Monounsaturated fats – These come from sunflower seeds, peanuts, olive oil, etc. They actually lower your cholesterol levels.
Here are some low-cholesterol or no-cholesterol examples.
*Most fruits and vegetables. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are especially good and can double as a dessert instead of sweets.
*Several different kinds of nuts, especially almonds and walnuts. These are handy as snacks and you can eat them several times a day (but be watchful of calories).
*Oat bran or oatmeal, certain cooked beans like pinto beans, kidney beans, and garbanzo beans or chick peas.
*Soy, which you get from tofu, tempeh, soymilk, roasted soy nuts.
*Many types of fish will help you reduce your cholesterol levels.
Several types of fish get high grades as cholesterol fighters. Some of the best are albacore tuna, herring, lake trout, mackerel, sardines and salmon. There’s an essential fatty acid in these kinds of fish called omega-3, which is extremely healthy. Fish also provides a lot of protein without a lot of calories.
A Final Thought
Formulating a low cholesterol diet means you have to get smart when you shop. You do it by conscientiously reading information on the labels of foods you buy – especially if it comes in plastic wrappers, metal cans or cardboard boxes.
Unfortunately, many people avoid eating a good diet for high cholesterol because they mistakenly believe it will be tasteless and boring. But when you really take a look at all the healthy – and tasty – possibilities a low cholesterol diet offers, you’ll find it can be a lot more interesting than you probably thought.
