Formulating a Diet to Control High Cholesterol

Formulating a diet to control high cholesterol is simply a matter of understanding which foods contain what types of fats and being creative from there. In this article titled “Formulating A Diet To Control High Cholesterol” we will first explore the two basic types of cholesterol, along with briefly discussing fats, then move on to a few helpful ideas that just might prove useful in formulating a diet to control cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat like substance that is an essential component of cells, and is a building block for many hormones. Ample amounts of cholesterol for good health are produced by the liver with additional cholesterol ingested through the diet. Cholesterol is free floating and must be carried by what are called lipoproteins. There are two basic types of lipoproteins, LDL (bad) and HDL (good). High levels of LDL are associated with a buildup of plaque and ultimately artery disease. High levels of HDL are associated with reducing the risk of disease.

There are three basic types of fats; saturated, trans fats, and unsaturated, In our diet to control high cholesterol we must shy away from both saturated and trans fats in favor of unsaturated fats. Examples of foods containing high levels of problematic fats are organ meats, sausage, egg yolks, coconut oil, palm oil, certain lunch meats such as bologna, crackers, cookies, stick butter, cheese, and deep fried foods. Unsaturated fats foods include omega 3 foods (fatty fish), fish oils, canola oil, avocado oil, almonds, and pecans. Cholesterol super foods include oatmeal, oat bran, apples, walnuts, salmon, pomegranates, vegetables, and olive oil.

*Ideas for achieving a diet to control high cholesterol

Vegetables: Keep your vegetables basic or saute them in olive oil. Avoid adding cheese, butter, or cream sauce.

Butter Me Not: It is tempting to butter your bread but a better alternative is to do what the Italians have done for years, and that is to use olive oil instead. Keep in mind that all vegetable oils, including olive oil, contain about 100 calories per tablespoon so don’t overdo it.

No Skin Please: Most the fat and therefore most of the cholesterol in poultry is in the skin. For example, 3.5 ounces of raw chicken breast with skin contains 64 mg of cholesterol and 2.7 grams of saturated fat. Without the skin the same portion contains 58 mg of cholesterol and 0.3 grams (not a misprint) grams of saturated fat.

Freezing the fat: Recently we had a holiday turkey which produced a large amount of cholesterol laden juice. Our answer, place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until the layer of white stuff solidified. We were not only able to reduce the cholesterol content dramatically but were able to lift away 100 calories with every tablespoon of fat. This idea works well for a number of foods including stew, soup, and chili.

What Next? Lowering cholesterol, in most cases, is about changing old habits, adopting new healthier habits, and enlisting the help of convention medications such as statins or natural cholesterol reducing remedies if needed. Put simply, this basically means finding ways to increase HDL (good cholesterol) and decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol levels). By using your creativity to formulate a diet to control high cholesterol your will be accomplishing both of the both criteria while reducing your caloric intake at the same time. Not a bad one two punch to knock out cholesterol.