Cholesterol and Triglyceride Lowering Diet and Weekly Menu Plan
Okay so, admittedly, it doesn’t take much to confuse me but after all this time of researching how best to start reducing cholesterol in my diet, I am met with the word “triglyceride” – so what is it? And is it just the same as cholesterol?
Well, yes and no, according to Web MD, triglycerides are a certain type of fat, found in a person’s blood. Much like cholesterol, a certain amount of triglycerides are needed in a person’s diet to ensure good health.
However, a high triglyceride rate can increase a person’s chances of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. High triglyceride can be managed by making diet and lifestyle modifications. In fact, people with high triglycerides are often recommended to follow a cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet.
High Triglycerides Can Cause Physical Symptoms
Like cholesterol, people who suffer from high triglycerides will rarely experience any side effects. However, in a small number of cases, certain people may notice fatty deposits under various areas of their skin.
This is caused by a high number of triglycerides, and while not life-threatening, it is an absolute certain sign that the person needs to reduce their triglyceride level. Well, as you can imagine, this news sent me running to the mirror to check my own skin.
Cholesterol and Triglyceride Lowering Diet Can Only Have Benefits
If like me you have been diagnosed with a high cholesterol level, a cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet can only have health benefits. In fact, when your cholesterol is tested, it will also have included a triglyceride test as standard. So how does this affect my reducing cholesterol crusade?
In order to reduce triglycerides in my blood I need to;
- Limit sugars and fat in my diet
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Introduce regular exercise into my routine
- Limit alcohol intake
Doctors Recommend Fish Oil be Part of a Cholesterol and Triglyceride Lowering Diet.While it has become obvious to me that reducing my intake of saturated and trans fats was important, in order to achieve the best cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet I would also need to add fish or a fish oil supplement to my diet. This is because fish contains certain fatty acids, linked with reducing triglycerides. The best fish to eat in this type of diet is;
- Salmon
- Herring
- Mackerel
- Trout
Although I am not a great lover of fish, I knew introducing the Omega-3 oils into my diet would benefit me by reducing cholesterol and triglycerides.
Therefore, if you don’t think you could eat the recommended three portions of fish a week, Omega-3 fish oil supplements are the next best thing.
I am definitely beginning to enjoy my new hobby, my new focus on healthy living and reducing cholesterol has made me feel not only happier but healthier too. Now all I have to concentrate on is ensuring my new cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet stays interesting, so I don’t fall back into bad habits.
Cholesterol and Triglyceride Lowering Diet Can Prevent Sudden Death
According to doctors from the health information channel According to the E-Med, individuals following a cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet are less likely to suffer sudden death.
Reducing cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood is possible through dietary changes alone, but advice from a medical professional is always recommended. This is because people who have a high level of cholesterol or triglycerides in their blood or who suffer from hereditary conditions caused by high cholesterol, may need to take medications for a period of time to help bring their levels within a manageable range.
Busy lifestyles are the most common reasons for high cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
If you are like me and like to pack your day full of activities or if you are simply trying to balance a work and home life, watching your diet is often the last thing on your mind.
Therefore, making a healthy meal for yourself and even the family is often impossible. Processed and other fast foods are often high in the fats associated with increasing cholesterol and triglycerides.
To try and tackle this problem, I have started doing a simple menu plan. That is deciding for the week what foods will best suit my cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet and ensuring I have the ingredients ready to go.
The idea of creating a menu plan is, the days you know you are going to be pressed for time you and organise a simple meal that is still healthy. The meals that require more preparation or cooking time, I save for the days I know I can commit the time.
- Day one – Poached salmon, new potatoes and carrots
- Day two – Pasta with tomato and basil sauce
- Day three – Vegetable curry with rice
- Day four – Chicken salad
- Day five – Mackerel, rice and poached eggs
The weekend I would leave to chance, although I do treat myself to a small Chinese takeaway and a half-a-glass of red wine on a Saturday evening.
Let the healthy eating begin…
So now I am more confident when it comes to following a cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet, I can concentrate on introducing other positive changes into my life such as exercise. I will always have to watch what I eat, reducing cholesterol and then maintaining it is not something you do once and that is it.
But, so far I am enjoying learning how to eat healthier and, hopefully, prolong my good health too.
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