Reducing High Cholesterol

No medications can do a better job than treating your high cholesterol naturally.  And, if you are one of those lucky people who do not have cholesterol concerns, you may want to take steps to keep it that way!

What can you do to improve your cholesterol levels?  Here’s the list and we will cover each item thoroughly.

Reduce fat in your diet

One of the best plans is covered previously in our chart on saturated fat.  But there is more you can do.  Buy the leanest cuts of meat you can find.  Regularly substitute poultry (without the skin) and fish for red meat.  Both are lower in saturated fat.  Switch to low fat cottage cheese and yogurt, reduced fat hard cheeses and skim or 1 percent milk.

Eat no more than four egg yolks a week

Many people don’t have to worry about eating cholesterol.  Normal bodies adjust to increased intake by cutting back on regular product.  However, since one third of Americans are cholesterol responders their blood cholesterol does go up when they eat cholesterol.  You probably don’t know if you fall into this category so play it safe.  Eat no more than four egg yolks a week.  An average egg yolk contains 213 milligrams of cholesterol!

Eliminate fried foods

Buying low fat is just the beginning.  You need to institute low fat cooking methods to keep the cholesterol from sneaking back in to your diet. Remove fatty skin from chicken and turkey.
Don’t fry foods.  Roast, bake, broil, grill or poach them instead.

Use fat free marinades or basting with liquids like wine, tomato or lemon juice.
Use olive or canola oils for sautéing or baking.  Both are very low in saturated fat.
Use diet, tub or squeeze margarines instead of regular.  Watch for the term “hydrogenated,” which means some of the fat is saturated.

Eat vegetables and complex carbohydrates

Lowest fat foods of all are vegetables, fruits, grains (rice, barley and pasta), beans and legumes.  Try substituting some of these for meat and high fat dairy products.

Don’t douse your pasta with butter or your potato with sour cream. Use tomato base sauces instead of cream base.

Use lemon juice, low sodium soy sauce or herbs to season vegetables. 

Make chili with extra beans and seasonings while leaving out the meat.

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