Cholesterol Lowering Diet
Is it any coincidence that the foods recommended for a cholesterol lowering diet are also foods recommended for overall good health? Of course not! Eating how your grandmother recommended is still mostly the way to good health, but in the modern world of packaged and processed foods we often toss aside old fashioned nutrition for modern convenience.
A cholesterol lowering diet is high in fruits, vegetables and grains while being low in red meats and saturated fats. This kind of eating can not only help with cholesterol but it can also help you to lose weight, lower blood pressure, relieve many symptoms of chronic illness and boost your immune system so your body can fight off illness and disease. Once you stop eating processed foods that have little nutrients and replace them with fruits and vegetables, you may also notice improvements in the appearance of your skin, hair and even the whites of your eyes! Plus you'll get lots of energy and feel great!
General Guidelines For A Cholesterol Lowering Diet
In general, you should strive to follow these rules:
Keep saturated fat intake to 10% of total calories and total fat intake to 30%
Keep sodium below 2500 mg a day
Keep cholesterol below 300 mg a day
Fresh fruits and vegetables are great - eat as many of them as you can!
Whole Oats are great for lowering cholesterol (not the processed kind, eat the natural whole oats)
Avoid red meat - switch to lean meats like fish but eat shellfish sparingly as it is high in cholesterol
Avoid sweets and desserts
Switch to low fat dairy products
Eat the egg whites, but go easy on the yolks
Switch from white bread to whole grain breads (check the list of ingredients as some breads that sport the name whole wheat do not have whole wheat as their main ingredient)
The Mediterranean Diet
People of the Mediterranean have a much lower incidence of heart disease than in the US. This may be because of their naturally cholesterol lowering diet. Traditional diets of the Mediterranean are high in olive oil (a one of the "good" fats) and include lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, red wine and fish. Red meat is used sparingly as are processed foods. This type of diet lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol. It includes a bit more fat than they recommend in the US – about 35% of calories but it’s mainly olive oil and little saturated fat. You may find that breaking out your Mediterranean style cookbooks and adopting this eating style could help lower your cholesterol in a new tasty way!
Of Interest
Take Control of Cholesterol
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