Safe Diets to Lower Cholesterol
If you have high cholesterol and want to download it, you might consider changing your diet. There is no shortage of diets on the market today to help you do this.
You can lower your cholesterol by eating foods that include more plant foods. Foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes are excellent substitutes for foods high in cholesterol. Choose foods such as cereals, bread, rice, pasta and other grains, and beans and peas. These are rich in starch and fiber and low in saturated fat and calories. These foods naturally contain a small amount of fat and cholesterol and should be added to their menu, but some bakery breads and sweet bread are high in fat and cholesterol milk, butter and eggs should be consumed in moderation.
Six to eleven servings of foods from this group each day is recommended. People who have an HDL (”good” cholesterol) should keep your intake of carbohydrates below the maximum 60 percent of total calories. Too many carbohydrates will force your liver to increase production of cholesterol that results in high levels of cholesterol rather than lower cholesterol in the blood.
If you follow a diet regimen that allows a low consumption of animal products, cholesterol levels should improve. A lot of animal products high in cholesterol and rich in saturated fats. Saturated fats actually increase their level of cholesterol in the blood rather than simply eating cholesterol itself. Red meat with visible fat, organ meats, processed meats like bologna and salami, duck, goose and are an example of some foods that are rich in saturated fat and cholesterol. Foods that are made from animals such as butter, egg yolks, cheese and even ice cream are also high in cholesterol and saturated fats. The consumption of animal products more than this prevents you from lowering your cholesterol.
Another avenue you might consider diet to lower cholesterol is to reduce the amount of trans fats consumed. Although saturated fats do increase the bad cholesterol trans fats will, too. Trans fats also lower HDL levels. This is the good cholesterol. Look at the list of ingredients on the label to see if the food has trans fat. Trans fat containing foods tend to have words printed on the label as shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ingredients are listed on the label in descending order of predominance. Near the end of the list are small amounts of trans fats. You can also look on the label under the “fat”. The amount of trans fat in the product is often appears just after the saturated fat. Trans fats are found in foods like salad dressings, shortening, candy, baked goods, fried foods and other processed foods. In trying to lower cholesterol, these foods should be avoided.