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Foods to Avoid High Cholesterol 

Cholesterol Lowering Foods

Fruit Salads  Try a fruit salad for breakfast, snack or a later meal. The aromas, colors and flavors of different fruit combinations will allure and tempt you to try and eat more of them. Frozen fruits sorbet style, smoothies, layered masterpieces are all possible. Use lemon juice to avoid apples and other fruits from browning and keep unused portions refrigerated and covered. Include fruit salads among foods to avoid high cholesterol.

Salads  It is not about what goes on top (preferably NOTHING!) It is about what is inside. Avoid croutons, bacon bits, whole milk products such as cheese, eggs, and other high-fat foods. Keeping it simple and drizzling with a little lemon juice (or fresh fruit juice) is all it takes to make for a healthy and filling meal. Salads are quick meals and easy to do; there is no excuse here. You can opt to add in some red peppers, chilies, fruit (apricots) to make it more interesting, but still healthy and not rich in fat-content! If you do want to add meat to your salad, opt for the lean cuts and again and preferably skinless chicken. Include salads among foods to avoid high cholesterol.

Pasta  Benefit from a great variety: try whole-wheat, fresh pasta or dried pasta, vegetable pastas and rice pastas. Simply cook the pasta in a pot and avoid using salt. Shred your favorite vegetables or cut them into very small pieces. Add the pasta and toss until the vegetables are the desired consistency. Add your favorite fresh herbs and combine. Combine the vegetables with some low-sodium and low-fat chicken or vegetable broth and cook until vegetables are softer but still crisp. Pasta-meals are easy to prepare in record time and again can give wide variety to your taste-buds. Include pasta among foods to avoid high cholesterol.

 Sandwiches  A word of caution: avoid highly processed deli and sandwich meats. They are not good for you. Choose lots of vegetables for your sandwiches (try roasted eggplant, zucchini and red peppers for added flavor). Use healthy breads or pitas or tortillas that are low in fat (preferably whole-wheat). Instead of mayo, use fresh sweet onions or mustard. Lean and skinless chicken or other poultry are best for the protein. Sandwiches can be included among foods to avoid high cholesterol.

Smoothies and Blended Treats  Blend your favorite combinations (even some veggies too!) with fresh fruit juice. Even consider steaming some vegetables like carrots, beets and spinach and adding some pineapple or orange juice to it for a refreshingly healthy treat. Chilling or even freezing some of the fruit before serving can produce a nice chilled drink that is perfect for summer. Combine until blended for an excellent and very healthy snack anytime and every time. Experiment with different fruit combinations to find different tastes. Great quick breakfast on days when you are in a rush. If you are craving desserts, you can add a small amount of very low fat frozen yogurt to this recipe as well for a smooth delicacy. Use frozen fruits to get a tasty and heart-friendly alternative to ice cream and other desserts. These blends can be included with foods to avoid high cholesterol.

Grilled Dishes  Brushing vegetables and lean meats with lemon juice and herbs prior to grilling is healthy and yummy! Grilling is easy to do and culinary excellence fast to create. Enjoy fat-free good-for-you foods. A good example is a butternut or sweet potato, cut open or in pieces, brushed with olive oil and roasted in the oven for a healthier alternative to fries or fat-rich, starchy vegetables.

Desserts and Snack  OCCASIONAL TREATS ARE OK! INDULGENCE and OVER-EATING NOT!Control your weight and your calorie intake by keeping your sweet-tooth in check. The least sugar, calories, fat, and salt in all your food choices should be your goal. Limit the intake of desserts and snacks. Occasionally eating low-fat desserts and snacks such as angel food cake, fig and fruit bars, low-fat yogurt, fruit sherbet, Jell-O, animal or graham crackers, wafers, puddings made with low-fat milk for lower-fat alternatives are acceptable, in moderation. Desserts still do often contain sodium, plenty of calories and some fats. FIND AND MAKE HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES.Try to ward off cravings with fresh fruit. An occasional treat can be included in foods to avoid high cholesterol.

Lean Meat Dishes  Try planks of cedar, perfect for baking or grilling fish. Cover with lemon juice and possibly herbs. Marinating poultry and other meats in lemon juice and fresh dill or in pureed fruits and vegetables is a heart-friendly way to get plenty of flavors into your cooking. Prepare your meats, without adding MORE fat! Cut off visible fat deposits and pieces, remove skin from chicken. Include MORE FISH in foods to avoid high cholesterol.

Here is a list of cholesterol lowering foods to avoid high cholesterol:

 Start by choosing healthier low fat foods.

 Buy unsaturated fats and oils.

 Use cooking-sprays (low-fat) to replace oils and further cut fat from our diet.

 Use food preparation techniques that do not require oil (stir-fry, steam, boil etc.).

 No deep-frying foods or baking/preparing foods in heavy oils.

 Be alert for hidden dangers! Especially try to avoid foods that contain harmful trans-fats such as margarine, salad dressing and sauces. Rather, opt for lemon juice and natural flavorings and eliminate added salts and fats!

  Cut calories and eat for the right reason: Eat only enough calories to improve your healthy weight and reduce your blood cholesterol level.

  Take in LESS than 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol each day, or follow the limits for dietary cholesterol that your doctor sets for you, which might be even less than ‘normal’ if deemed appropriate in your case.

Limit saturated fats to less than 7% of daily intake.

Limit your sodium intake to 2400 milligrams a day.

 If you are faced with really high/bad cholesterol levels, consume only very low portions of saturated fat.

Fiber is good for you. Our bodies need it to digest foods properly. Soluble fiber is best and may help you consistently lower your cholesterol for good. Try new sources of high fiber foods full like:

• Dried peas and beans

• Fruits (especially oranges and pears)

• Oats, Rye and Barley

• Vegetables (especially brussel sprouts and carrots)

Foods to avoid at all costs for a low cholesterol diet 

 All foods high in cholesterol like egg yolks and full-fat dairy, even organ meats (liver/kidneys). 

 Fried and processed foods or foods high in fat and salt. 

 Highly processed foods (deli meats, sausages, hot dogs, bologna, salami and fatty red meats).

 List of Foods to Avoid HighCholesterol:

We are advised to limit daily intake to 6 ounces or less of animal products to keep our cholesterol levels in check. 

Fish is your best option for protein and nutrients! It is even better than chicken. 

When choosing meat and animal protein: Select lean cuts: white meats with less ‘marbleizing’ (which is the cholesterol). Skinless meats are best, lean cuts with no excess fat. Remove the skin of chicken. 

Smaller, more regular meals are better for your metabolism. 

Variety is the key, from all food-groups, every day. 

Fruits and vegetables are good for you – better than animal fats! 

The following reference list of foods to avoid high cholesterol is not meant to be a complete listing – only quoted and provided here for illustrative purposes and to give you a checklist of sorts to start buying some new vegetables: 

Alfalfa sprouts  

Anise 

Apples  

Apricots  

Artichoke  

Arugula  

Asparagus  

Avocado  

Bananas  

Bean sprouts 

Beans  

Beets and beet greens  

Berries  

Bok choy  

Breadfruit  

Broccoli  

Brussels sprouts  

Cabbage  

Calabrese  

Carrots  

Cauliflower  

Celeriac  

Celery  

Chard  

Cherries  

Chicory  

Chives  

Clementines  

Collard  

Corn  

Cucumber  

Daikon  

Dates  

Eggplant 

Endive  

Fennel  

Fiddleheads  

Figs  

Frisee  

Garlic  

Grapefruits  

Grapes  

Guava  

Kailan  

Kale  

Kiwis  

Kohlrabi  

Kumquats  

Leek  

Lemon grass  

Lemons and Limes  

Lentils  

Lettuce  

Lychee fruits  

Mangos 

Melons 

Mushrooms  

Mustard greens  

Nectarines  

Nettles  

Okra  

Onions  

Oranges 

Papayas  

Parsnips  

Passion Fruits  

Peaches  

Pears  

Peas  

Peppers  

Persimmons  

Pineapples  

Plums  

Pomegranates 

Potatoes  

Pummelo  

Qunices  

Radicchio  

Radishes  

Rapini  

Rhubarb  

Rutabaga  

Skirret 

Spinach 

Squashes 

Star Fruit 

Sweety  

Tangelos 

Tangerines  

Tomatoes 

Tubers  

Turnip and turnip greens  

Ugli Fruits  

Water chestnuts 

Watercress  

Zucchini

Cholesterol Matters to Your Heart

(ARA) - Everyone knows they should watch their cholesterol, but do you know why? If you have high cholesterol, you may have twice the risk for heart disease -- the number one health problem for both women and men in the United States.

High levels of cholesterol can lead to heart disease, heart attacks and strokes. Bad cholesterol, known as LDL, floats through your bloodstream, occasionally catching on the inside walls of the blood vessels. If enough cholesterol accumulates in one spot, the buildup -- known as a plaque -- can block the passage of blood. The resulting restriction of blood flow to the heart can cause a heart attack, while restriction of blood to the brain can lead to a stroke.

Luckily, you may be able to reduce your risk of suffering one of these life-threatening events by lowering your bad cholesterol levels. You can check your cholesterol level through a simple blood test. The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) recommends LDL cholesterol levels below 130 mg/dL for people without heart disease but at moderate risk for developing heart disease. For those people with heart disease or a disease that puts them at high risk (such as diabetes), the recommended LDL cholesterol levels are below 100 mg/dL. Further reductions to 70 mg/dL are optimal and may be beneficial for those at particularly high risk.

To control your cholesterol levels, you should limit your intake of foods that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as fatty meats and whole milk. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and other high-fiber foods, and be sure to exercise as recommended by your doctor.

In some cases, however, lifestyle changes alone are not enough. In those instances, medications including statins might be prescribed to lower cholesterol levels further. Thanks in part to the availability of these medications, the average patient today is considerably more likely to reach their LDL cholesterol goals than they were just 10 years ago.

Because high cholesterol doesn’t cause day-to-day symptoms, it can easily go undetected. Many people don’t know they have high cholesterol until they develop symptoms of heart disease such as chest pain. As a result, it is important to monitor your cholesterol levels regularly. And if your doctor has prescribed a cholesterol-lowering drug, be sure to stay on your medication.

If you have high cholesterol, or if you do not know your cholesterol levels, here are some important questions to ask your doctor:

* Why should I keep track of my cholesterol levels?

* Am I at risk for a heart attack or stroke?

* What puts me at risk?

* What are my current cholesterol levels?

* What are my cholesterol goals?

* How often should I check my cholesterol?

* How can I lower my cholesterol through diet? Exercise? Medication?

* What are the possible side effects of cholesterol-lowering medications?

* How should I take my medication?

Talk to your doctor to see if you should be doing more to lower your cholesterol levels. Not all cholesterol-lowering medications are the same, so be sure you and your doctor choose the one that’s best for you.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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