Low Cholesterol Diet

Consumption of healthy, balanced diet helps you to reduce the risk factors, blood cholesterol, elevated blood pressure & obesity.

Any discussion of cholesterol diets begins with the fact that our blood cholesterol levels are mainly determined by two factors: a) heredity and b) the food we eat.

There's not much you can do about heredity. Some people tend to produce more cholesterol than others. But diet is another story. You have control over how much cholesterol you put in your body.

A study reported in the August 2009 Journal of the American Medical Association cited recent research about a connection between the so-called "Mediterranean diet" and low, heart-healthy cholesterol levels. The Mediterranean diet is predominently rich in fruit, vegetables, nuts, beans and olive oil. The recent study confirmed what doctors have been saying for decades: such foods help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, thereby reducing the risk of death from heart disease or a heart attack.

Types of Fat

There are various kinds of fat.

• Saturated fat is a kind of fat that is seen in large amounts in animal meat, coconut oil, palm oil etc. This fat should be avoided because, it raises the blood cholesterol.
• Trans fat is found in milk, beef or hydrogenated vegetable oils that are commonly used in baked food or fast-food restaurants. These also tend to elevate the blood cholesterol, so their use should be limited.
• Polyunsaturated fats: These are present in vegetable oils & fish oils. They comparatively reduce blood cholesterol when consumed moderately.
• Monounsaturated fats are found in sunflower, peanut, olive etc. They also lower the cholesterol level in the blood.

What is the TLC diet?

It is Therapeutic lifestyle changes diet. It is endorsed by National Cholesterol Education Program. People, who are the victims or at high risk for heart disease can adopt this diet.

It recommends:

• 25 -35 % of unsaturated fat.
• Foods rich in complex carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits & vegetables.
• 10 -25 grams of soluble fiber.
• 2 g/ day of plant derived sterols.
• Balance energy intake & expenditure to maintain optimum body weight and/or prevent weight gain.

What Is a High Fiber Diet?

Dietary fiber is the parts of plants that are not easily digested. They can be further classified as soluble or insoluble.

Soluble fibers that are rich in oats, peas, beans, rice bran, citreous fruits, pulp of apple, strawberries etc., is shown to reduce blood cholesterol.

On the other hand, insoluble fiber through doesn’t seem to lower the cholesterol level, it aids in normal bowel function. Cereals, whole wheat, cabbage, beets, carrot, cauliflower, apple skin are known to contain insoluble fiber.

Cooking tips:

• Eating excess salt than the body requires may enhance the blood pressure. So, limit salt in cooking.
• Drain the liquid from canned vegetables & wash them with water before cooking.
• Use vegetable oil to brown or sauté foods.
• Broil or grill instead of frying.
• Don’t baste with dripping.
• Use low-fat cottage cheese instead of regular high fat cheese.
• Trim all visible fat from meat, take the skin off poultry after roasting and drain off fat when you broil, roast or bake.
• Use egg without yolks.
• Read the label carefully for low-fat on canned food.

What are functional foods?

Functional foods are fresh or frozen nutritious food that contain specific added ingredient that helps a specific body condition. Some examples for functional foods are

• Benecol margarine- lowers cholesterol
• Herbal tea
• Orange juice-fortified with calcium
• Vitamin D milk etc.

There are many ways you can work a cholesterol diet into your life. For example, you can eat less salt, drain the liquid (with the preservatives) from canned veggies and rinse them off before preparing them. You can use low fat cheese and milk. You can also trim the fat from meats before cooking. You can use your egg without yolk and broil or grill instead of frying.

These are just a few cooking tips for a better cholesterol diet and we encourage you to discover more of your own.

Also see our articles on cholesterol free foods, cholesterol lowering foods and how to raise hdl.

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