If you’ve recently been told by your doctor that your cholesterol is too high, you’ve probably also been told it’s time to change your eating habits by adopting a good diet for high cholesterol.
But you may be asking, “Exactly how do I do that? What foods are part of a low cholesterol diet? What foods can I eat? What foods should I avoid? Where do I find the information I need?”
There’s no need to worry. It’s not as hard to implement a good diet for high cholesterol as you may think. In fact, you actually have a wide variety of resources to investigate.
But be aware that starting a good diet for high cholesterol is not the tough part. The real trick is persistence, which means not eating things that elevate our cholesterol levels.
Making the change to a low cholesterol diet is tough for some people – there’s no doubt about it. But it’s important to try because cholesterol health matters. It may even be life-saving. Here’s why.
When you eat foods that result in high cholesterol levels, you boost 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 commercial messages everyday inviting you to “slip.” But once you commit to lowering your cholesterol, you’ll be pleased to discover that many healthy foods taste pretty good after all.
Before looking at specific foods, let’s talk first about four different kinds of fats that come in most of the food we eat. This is important. When you understand which fats are good and which fats are bad, you can select foods that are good and stay away from those that aren’t. It might surprise you to know that not all fats are bad. In fact, some are actually good for you.
Let’s check out the bad fats first.
Saturated fats – These are typically found in red meat, coconut oil, palm oil and so on .
Trans fats – This is the type of fat you get in some of our best loved “comfort” foods like baked goods (cake, muffins, doughnuts, croissants etc.). Trans fats are also used often in fast food restaurants, especially the ones that serve french fries. Many foods that come in a cardboard box or a plastic wrapper contain excessive amounts of trans fats (along withlots of salt)
Fats that are good for you include the following:
Polyunsaturated fats – These come from vegetable oils & fish oils. They help reduce cholesterol when consumed in moderation.
Monounsaturated fats – This type comes from sunflower seeds, peanuts, olive oil, etc. They actually help reduce cholesterol levels.
Here are some low fat low cholesterol examples.
*Most fruits and vegetables. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are especially good and can even substitute for a dessert.
*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. Some of the best are albacore tuna, herring, lake trout, mackerel, sardines and salmon. These are rich in omaga-3, which is a valuable,cholesterol-lowering fatty acid. You can also get a lot of low calorie protein from fish.
Formulating a diet that will bring your cholesterol back into a healthy range 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 is prepackaged.
Unfortunately, many people avoid eating a good diet for high cholesterol because they mistakenly think 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.
For more information, click on cholesterol free foods and cholesterol lowering diet foods. Neal Kennedy is a former radio and TV talk show host. To read more of his articles, visit Cholesterol Health, a website about low cholesterol living.
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