High cholesterol can lead to many life-threatening conditions and diseases, including heart disease, heart attacks and stroke, according to the Mayo Clinic. But there are steps that you can take to reduce your cholesterol and your risk of these medical conditions. The Mayo Clinic recommends losing weight, eating heart-healthy foods, eliminating processed foods and sugars from your diet, staying away from saturated and trans fats, exercising, quitting smoking and drinking alcohol only in moderation. There are many commercial or pre-planned diet programs available that can teach you how to eat a heart-healthy diet.
The Mayo Clinic Diet
The Mayo Clinic diet is more than a weight loss plan; it is designed to improve your overall health and has been shown to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and stroke, according to Healthcastle.com. The Mayo Clinic diet was created by doctors at the Mayo Clinic itself, which is legendary for cutting edge medical care. There's no starving on this diet; Thedietchannel.com reports that the diet is based on eating higher quantities of lower calorie foods, including, fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, lean proteins and healthy poly and monounsaturated fats. There is a two-week quick start plan, which is followed by a long-term healthy lifestyle plan, designed to last as long as you need. The diet addresses your mental health as well as your physical and thus comes with tools such as, five habits of yours that you want to break and five habits that you want to add to your life.
The Sonoma Diet
The Sonoma Diet is structured around eating healthy foods that are not only good for your waistline but also your cholesterol levels, heart and blood pressure. Sonomadiet.com reports that the developers of the Sonoma Diet believed that the healthiest foods make the tastiest dishes, so they created a heart-healthy diet that utilizes the culinary traditions of the Mediterranean Sea and California's Sonoma Valley. A staple of the Sonoma Diet is what they call the top 10 power foods, which include almonds, bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, grapes, olive oil, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes and whole-grains. There are three phases to the diet; a starter phase, the diet and then the final phase, which is essentially a healthy method of eating for life. The diet is available by book or online; both variations come with over 500 Sonoma-inspired recipes.
Macrobiotic
The Macrobiotic Diet is not really considered to be a diet, but more a way of life. The foods that you eat on this plan are somewhat restrictive, but the benefits are weight loss, lower cholesterol and a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. Everydiet.org reports that food should be whole, real food that is organically grown. If possible, food should be eaten raw, or at the most cooked slowly. Fast cooking methods such as microwaves are frowned upon. Everydiet.org reports that the foods that make up the macrobiotic diet consist of 50 percent whole-grains, 25 percent seasonal vegetables, 10 percent protein, 5 percent sea vegetables, 5 percent soups and 5 percent fruit, nuts and seeds.
