The Best Diet for High Cholesterol

 
When it comes to eating right, a diet for high cholesterol will come in handy to help you figure out how to lower cholesterol naturally. If you spend all your time figuring out which are the best foods to avoid high cholesterol, you won’t ever have to worry about cholesterol. All the good cholesterol foods can come in handy helping you to fight off the nasty cholesterol intruders. The low cholesterol diet plan and the sample diets for lowering cholesterol below will make it much easier for you to get rid of your cholesterol once and for all. Remember that increasing good cholesterol is just as important as getting rid of the bad cholesterol, so take the time to read the list of foods to avoid high cholesterol as well as the list of good cholesterol foods below. You will find a low cholesterol diet plan that you can use to fight cholesterol, or there are sample diet for lowering cholesterol that have been created by experts and professional nutritionists from around the world. With no further ado…

How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally With Superfoods

When it comes to the best low cholesterol recipes, you can bet that adding superfoods to the meal plan will help you to get rid of the cholesterol as effectively as possible. In fact, the best low cholesterol diet menu plans all involve certain superfoods, with the main ones being:
  • Red Wine – Red wine is rich in resveratrol, and it will help to increase the levels of HDL (good) cholesterol in your body. As long as you drink just one glass or wine (or one drink) a day, you can bet that your body will fight off the cholesterol on its own.
  • Avocadoes – Avocadoes are not only green and tasty, but they will help to get rid of all the bad cholesterol by raising your good cholesterol. The healthy fats in avocadoes are great if consumed in moderation.
  • Blueberries – Most berries are rich in antioxidants, but the dark blue berries contain more than most. The antioxidant contained in blueberries – known as pterostilbene – is very effective at getting rid of your LDL cholesterol.
  • Barley – Barley, like all whole grains, grease the chute that gets rid of the cholesterol from your body. However, the fiber in barley is so effective that people eating it have found that their cholesterol level has dropped twice as far as those not eating it.
  • Legumes – All legumes contain fiber, and fiber acts like a sponge to soak up all the cholesterol in your body. However, beans and lentils, when combined with whole grains, pack a powerful punch that will help you to clean up your body quickly and easily.
  • Almonds – Almonds (and all nuts) contain the healthy fats that your body needs to function well, and these superfoods can help to stop your LDL cholesterol from being oxidized and hardening into plaque.
  • Oats – Oats are one of the most amazing foods to eat, as it will help to increase the levels of HDL cholesterol in your body. Higher HDL means that your body can more effectively get rid of the LDL, so start eating your oats.
These superfoods truly are amazing, and your body will be improved in every way by eating these foods. It’s awesome that they can help to get rid of cholesterol as well as burn fat, reduce hunger, and do all those other things that truly make them “super” foods.

Low Cholesterol Recipes: Low Cholesterol Foods to Eat

If you are trying to get rid of cholesterol, the low cholesterol foods are the ones that you should eat more than any. What does it mean to be a low cholesterol food? The answer is simple:
  1. The food contains very low amounts of fat – This could mean that the low cholesterol foods are natural vegetables, fruits, or legumes, or it could mean that they are meats like poultry or fish that are lower in saturated fats and contain more good fats. Cutting back on the amount of fat that you eat is important, so eating low fat dairy, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other natural foods is the way to go.
  2. The food contains lots of fiber – Remember that fiber acts like a sponge to soak up and eliminate all of the cholesterol that would do harm to your body, so getting more fiber in your diet is the way to go. High fiber foods include nuts, legumes, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, so you would do well to put as much of these low cholesterol foods on your low cholesterol diet menu as possible.
  3. The food contains very small amounts of sugar – Sugar is the first thing that your body turns into fat, and fat becomes cholesterol. Eating less sugar, therefore, is the best way to ensure that you don’t have high cholesterol levels. Refined sugars like white sugar, sweets, and goodies are going to be the worst for you, as they are refined and thus difficult for your body to process. Low cholesterol foods like fruits even contain natural sugars that can cause problems, so it is best to keep consumption of sugary foods to a minimum.
  4. The food contains very little oil – If you are going to eat right, cutting back on oil is important. The oil you use for cooking is likely high in saturated fats and trans fats, which are very bad for you. The more oil a particular food contains, the more likely it will be to cause cholesterol. The low cholesterol foods are the ones that contain as little oil as possible.

Foods to Avoid High Cholesterol

There are certain foods that you need to avoid, as they are the cause of high cholesterol. These foods to avoid high cholesterol can be a problem, as they will increase the fats and sugar in your body. Don’t know which foods these are? Here are a few examples of food to avoid
  • High Fat Dairy – Yes ice cream is on the list, along with whole milk, whole yoghurt, and the tasty cheeses you love so much.
  • Eggs – Egg yolks contain lots of cholesterol, so eat egg whites or egg substitutes instead.
  • Butter – Butter is basically fat, so it is best to avoid it in order to avoid high cholesterol.
  • Shellfish – Shellfish and seafood like shrimp are not usually high in fat, but they can still send your cholesterol through the roof.
  • Goose and Duck – Both of these birds contain lots of cholesterol, and thus should be replaced by turkey or chicken.
  • Organ Meats – Kidney, liver, and other organ meats are naturally going to contain lots of cholesterol, as they store all the garbage from the body of their host animal.
  • Fried Foods – Remember that fried foods are cooked in oil, thereby infusing them with saturated fats.
  • Pastries, Cakes, Donuts, etc. – All of your favorite baked goodies are high in sugar, contain butter or oil, and will add to your caloric intake while providing you very little nutritional benefit.
  • Snacks – Pretty much any snack that you find will contain sugar, will be deep fried, or will use artificial ingredients.
These foods are important to avoid, and they are just a few among many of the foods that can cause problems with your cholesterol.

Low Cholesterol Recipes: A Great Low Cholesterol Diet Plan

If you want a great low cholesterol diet plan, you already have all of the information you need to make your own. In order to lose weight and get in shape, you have to eat the right foods and cut out the wrong foods. The same is true for cholesterol, and your low cholesterol recipes should contain lots of:
  • Vegetables
  • Whole Grains
  • Legumes
The low cholesterol diet menu should also contain fair amounts of:
  • Fruits
  • Nuts
  • Natural fats
  • Low fat dairy
Your meal plan’s low cholesterol recipes should have very little:
  • Alcohol
  • Natural sugar
The low cholesterol diet plan should contain no:
  • Fats
  • Refined sugars
  • Artificial ingredients
As simple as that, you can whip up your own low cholesterol diet in a few minutes, and you might be surprised to realize how easy it is to avoid cholesterol if you just change your eating habits.

Low Cholesterol Recipes: Sample Diets for Lowering Cholesterol

If you don’t think you are capable of drawing up your own meal plan and menu with lots of low cholesterol recipes, there are some cholesterol lowering diets that are already created to help you lose weight, get in shape, and lower your cholesterol naturally. The sample diets for lowering cholesterol below are great to get rid of the junk in your body, so read over them, do additional research, and see if one of them is exactly what you need to help you drop those extra pounds and get rid of that bad cholesterol: Mediterranean Diet The Mediterranean Diet has lots of great recipes for low cholesterol diets, and this is because the diet plans contain lots of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, fish, wine, and olive oil. The diets also call for very little red meat, making them effective at helping to flush your body of all the cholesterol. Many people have found that their HDL cholesterol levels have gone up on this diet, while their total cholesterol levels have gone way down. As long as you are careful on the fairly high (natural) fat diet, you should have no problem dealing with your cholesterol. The Step I and Step II Diets The Step I Diet is a dietary approach to dealing with high cholesterol, and it has proven to be fairly effective. It involves cutting back fat intake to less than 30% of your daily calories, cutting saturated fats to 10%, eating less than 300 mg of cholesterol a day, cutting back sodium to less than 2,400 mg, and increasing the amounts of polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat in order to improve the body’s elimination of cholesterol. The Step II Diet goes even further than the Step I Diet, cutting back the fats even further, lowering the sodium and cholesterol intake even more, and taking more effective measures to counteract the cholesterol. This diet plan is usually followed by those that have very high cholesterol levels, as the very high levels increase the chance of heart attack and stroke. Those following the Step II Diet usually require a drastic lowering of cholesterol. VLF Diets A Very Low Fat Diet is designed to reduce the amount of fat you consume, as well as increase the amounts of fiber and other healthy nutrients that you get in your meals. These diets can involve consuming 10 to 15 percent less fat than you should in order to stay healthy, and this drastic reduction helps to lower triglycerides. The Ornish Program is one such diet, and it is designed to help reduce the cholesterol that is clogging the arteries and increasing your risk of serious problems.

Low Cholesterol Recipes: How to Lower Bad Cholesterol

If you want to know how to lower bad cholesterol, the good news is that you don’t have to visit your doctor or take any medications. The bad news is that doing so will require a good deal of hard work and effort on your part, but it will be well worth it in the end. Here are a few things to do to help you lower your bad cholesterol (aside from consuming food prepared with low cholesterol recipes): Exercise – Doing exercise is one of the best ways to beat bad cholesterol. The reason that exercise is so great is due to the fact that it helps to circulate the blood through the body more effectively. More effective circulation means improved health, but it also means that there is less risk of the arteries being obstructed. The blood washes away the cholesterol buildups, so doing exercise is incredibly vital for your getting rid of bad cholesterol. Alcohol – Surprisingly, drinking a bit of alcohol can also help to get rid of bad cholesterol. Drinking too much alcohol has a negative effect on your body, but a glass or two of wine every day can help your heart to work better, get rid of your cholesterol, and improve your overall health. As long as you don’t go overboard and drink too much, you can actually get healthier by drinking. Smoking –Smoking is one of the worst things that you can do for your body, and it causes your body to start degenerating at a much younger age than it should. Quitting smoking has caused people to see direct improvement on their overall health, including their cholesterol levels. Smoking not only causes your body to stop producing HDL cholesterol, but it also weakens the walls of your arteries and causes them to crack more easily. If you are serious about getting rid of your cholesterol, quit smoking today. Stress – Stress has a negative effect on your body, no matter who you are or how old you are. Those with problems with high cholesterol will just make their chances of complications much more serious when compounded with stress, so it is important to reduce the amount of stress you have in your life. Not only does stress cause you to sleep less, but it can also cause you to feel hungry and want to eat more. These are just a few things you can do to fight off your bad cholesterol, but they are important things. Aside from following a low cholesterol diet menu and eating food prepared according to low cholesterol diet recipes, these things above will be very effective at helping you to fight off cholesterol without the use of medications.

Low Cholesterol Recipes: Good Cholesterol Foods

There are some foods that are excellent for your health, and these foods help to fight off the bad cholesterol. They do so by increasing the levels of good cholesterol in your body, and these good cholesterol foods truly are amazing. Here are a few examples of some of the best good cholesterol foods to eat:
  • Orange Juice, which contains lots of Vitamin C and helps to boost HDL levels in your body.
  • Soy, which is low in fat, high in protein, and helps to nourish your heart.
  • Foods low on the GMI, which contain lots of fiber and very little sugar.
  • Fish, nuts, and avocadoes, all of which contain healthy fats that produce HDL and lower LDL.
There are many foods that you should try to eat more of, and these good cholesterol foods will be effective in helping you to get rid of all the bad cholesterol. As you can see, diet for high cholesterol diet menu will be important to follow, as they will help improve your overall health. They may not be your favorite foods, but you can love them for the simple fact that they get rid of all the bad cholesterol in your body.