How can I lower your blood cholesterol level

How can I lower your blood cholesterol level?

· Increase fiber (soluble fiber in particular) by including at least 5 servings
of fruits and vegetables per day. Other sources of soluble fiber include oat
products and dried beans.
· Substitute mono-unsaturated fat (olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil) or
polyunsaturated fat (safflower, corn and sunflower oils) for saturated fat
in your diet. Although mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are a
better choice than saturated fats, all fats should be used in moderation.
· Limit high cholesterol foods such as egg yolks, fatty meats, organ meats,
butter, whole milk, cheese and other high fat dairy products.
· Decrease total fat intake, especially saturated fat. Saturated fat is mainly in
animal fats, but it is also present in some foods from plants, such as solid
shortenings (Crisco), cocoa butter and coconut and palm oils. These products
are used in store-bought baked goods, non-dairy whipped toppings, cream
substitutes, some peanut butters and some margarines. The names of common
saturated fat and cholesterol sources in foods are listed below.

Sources of Saturated Fat and Cholesterol

Animal Fat

· Bacon Fat · Hardened fat or oil

· Beef Fat · Lamb fat

· Butter · Lard

· Chicken fat and skin · Meat fat

· Chocolate · Palm kernel oil

· Cocoa butter · Palm oil

· Coconut · Partially hydrogenated oil of any type

· Coconut oil · Pork fat

· Cream · Turkey fat and skin

· Egg and egg yolk solids · Vegetable shortening

· Ham fat · Whole milk solids

Meat and Meat Substitutes

· Bake, broil, roast or grill meats. Do not fry meats. Drain off any fat. Use a

non-stick skillet and vegetable spray, such as Pam.

· Trim all visible fat from meats.

· Do not eat poultry skin. Remove skin before or after cooking and thoroughly

clean poultry of fat before cooking.

· Refrigerate meat drippings and remove hardened fat. This can also be done

with soups.

Choose lean cuts of red meat such as:

• 
  
• „ Beef: Round, sirloin, or loin cuts
• „ Veal: All trimmed cuts, except commercially ground
• „ Pork: Loin, sirloin, and tenderloin
• „ Lamb: Leg, arm, or loin

· Use lean ground round or sirloin instead of ground chuck or regular ground
hamburger. Better yet, try ground turkey. Be sure the turkey skin has not been
ground into the meat. Ground turkey can be used as a substitute for ground
beef in any recipe. If you are limiting sodium, do not use turkey sausage or
lunch meats, as they are very high in salt.
· Consider replacing a meat meal with fish, beans, vegetable patties, or tofu.
· Fish has a higher content of polyunsaturated fat than red meat. The fat in fish
is omega-3 fatty acids. Try adding fish to your diet a few times each week.
· Limit use of egg yolks in baking or eating. Consider using egg whites or egg
substitutes (Egg Beaters). Substitute 2 egg whites for one whole egg in
recipes.


Dairy Products


· Use skim or 1% milk whenever possible for drinking and cooking.
· Choose low-fat or non-fat dairy products (with 5 grams of fat or less per
serving):
„ Part skim mozzarella cheese
„ Part skim ricotta cheese
„ Non-fat plain yogurt or low-fat flavored yogurt
„ Evaporated skim milk
„ Non-fat or 1% cottage cheese
· Replace regular sour cream, cream cheese and gravies with reduced fat or fatfree
versions.
· Replace cream, half and half, sour cream, whipped cream, non-dairy or frozen
whipped toppings with lower fat versions or use these products occasionally
in moderation.
· Replace high fat ice-cream with reduced fat ice cream, ice milk, low fat
frozen yogurt, sherbet or sorbet.
· If you make pudding or custard, use skim or 1% milk
Fruits and Vegetables
· Use raw or fresh cooked vegetables, plain frozen vegetables or low-sodium
canned vegetables.
· Use fresh, frozen, dried or canned fruits. Use canned fruits packed in natural
juices or water.
· Avoid deep-fried vegetables such as French fried potatoes, zucchini or
mushrooms.
· Use herbs to add flavor without adding fat.
Breads and Starches
· Use enriched or whole grain breads and cereals, bagels and English muffins.
Other good choices are spaghetti, noodles, macaroni, rice and tortillas, but
watch your portion sizes.
Limit commercially prepared biscuits, pancakes, cornbread, waffles, muffins,
sweet rolls, coffee cakes and baked desserts. These items can be used in
moderation if prepared from “scratch” using acceptable margarine or
vegetable oil and egg substitutes. Also watch packaged potato mixes, like au
gratin or scalloped potatoes.
· If a frozen TV dinner is eaten on occasion, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine or
other low fat brands are recommended.
· Avoid potato chips, corn chips and buttered popcorn. Use pretzels, fat free
chips, air-popped or reduced fat microwave popcorn.



Fats


· Use low calorie or diet margarine instead of butter. Look for liquid vegetable
oil or water as the first ingredient on the margarine label. Avoid margarines
that list Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils on the ingredient list.
· Use low calorie or fat-free mayonnaise and salad dressings. The fat and
calories are much lower. Good choices are:
„ Hellman's Light or Reduced Fat Mayonnaise
„ Miracle Whip Light or No Fat Miracle Whip
„ Any Weight Watcher's mayonnaise or margarine
„ Any reduced fat, light or fat free dressings
· When dining out, order salad dressings and mayonnaise to be served on the
side, then use only part of the portion they serve you. Dip your fork in the
salad dressing and then into your salad.
· Avoid gravies and rich sauces, like Hollandaise or cheese sauces. Use low fat
or fat free gravy.
· Avoid cream sauces on vegetables. Avoid any vegetable cooked with meat fat
or bacon.
· Avoid fried food, especially if it is breaded. Frying food can actually triple
the amount of calories, all from added fat! Use non-stick vegetable oil spray
(such as PAM) for quick frying.

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