Cholesterol Lowering Diets: Your Food, Your Calories, Your Fat, Your Heart

A cholesterol lowering diet, as recommended by the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org), should limit your trans fats, keep your fat intake between 25% and 35% of your total calorie intake, have 20 to 30 grams of fiber every day, lower your saturated fats to under 7% of your total calorie intake, add plant stanols and sterols to your diet, and eat frequent small meals per day instead of three large meals. Your Cholesterol intake for the day should be under 200mg. Surprisingly, they also state that adding small amounts of alcohol to your diet can lower your cholesterol by increasing HDL. However, don’t add alcohol to your Cholesterol Lowering Diet if you don’t already drink.

The American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org) recommends fish, including salmon, tuna, trout, herring, sardines and mackerel. These are cold-water “fatty fish.” They are full of the good fat, omega-3, which lowers triglycerides (fat in the bloodstream) by 25% to 30%, and slow down plaque growth in the arteries and reduce inflammation.

Many highly renowned health organizations recommend fish, oats, nuts and food containing plant sterols and stanols that are naturally found in vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds and nuts. They are also found as supplements in medicine and many grocery store items such as margarine and orange juice. The FDA has approved fish, oats, nuts and plant sterols and stanols for labeling as a healthy addition to a cholesterol lowering diet.

It is also recommended substituting saturated fat with monounsaturated fat by using olive oil, peanut oil and canola oils instead of oils high in trans fat (which is produced by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil) and tropical oils (such as palm oil or coconut oils). Most grain companies have paid attention to the bad effects of trans fat in lowering cholesterol diet plans, and have changed their oil formulas. New York City has even banned the use of trans fat in their restaurants. It is also recommended being cautious with your intake of eggs. Egg whites contain no Cholesterol, but an egg yolk contains about 213mg of Cholesterol. So if you are limited to 200mg of Cholesterol on your cholesterol lowering diet, it’s best to switch to egg whites or maybe substitute oatmeal for those extra three eggs you might want for breakfast!

Cholesterol lowering diets come in many shapes and sizes, however food that is consistently recommended if you are on a cholesterol lowering diet are oats, fish, plant sterols and stanols and nuts. By monitoring your calorie and fat intake, you can design a cholesterol lowering diet that will be right just for you.