Diabetes is an illness in which your body does not utilize glucose effectively and high blood glucose is the result. Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease and makes you more likely to have high cholesterol. Since high cholesterol also increases your risk of heart disease, controlling both of these disease processes is extremely important for your heart health. Fortunately, dietary changes can have a significant impact on both your diabetes and your cholesterol levels.
Background
Both high cholesterol and diabetes are risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke. Additionally, diabetes increases your risk of high cholesterol. Your LDL, or low density lipoprotein, cholesterol is termed bad cholesterol because it increases your risk of heart disease. If you do not have heart disease or diabetes, your LDL should be less than 160mg/dL. If you do have diabetes, your LDL should be lower than 100mg/dL.
Carbohydrates
For both diabetes and high cholesterol, the carbohydrates that you consume should be the healthiest available. Simple carbohydrates such as sugars break down easily to glucose and so cause your blood sugar to fluctuate. Complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, lentils and low-fat dairy products help to keep your blood sugar levels within a normal range and can reduce your LDL cholesterol. Many of the complex carbohydrates, such as oatmeal and beans, also contain soluble fiber that helps to remove cholesterol from your body.
Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats
Certain fats, such as saturated and trans fats, increase your cholesterol. These fats are especially bad for diabetics because they contribute to coronary artery disease and diabetes increases your risk of heart disease independently. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are found in nuts, plant oils, fish and avocado, can help to lower your cholesterol levels. These fats are still high in calories and should be eaten sparingly.
Fish
Cod, tuna, halibut, salmon and herring are good sources of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids lower triglycerides, another component of your cholesterol. These fish are an excellent alternative to meats that are high in fat such as red meat and can also reduce your blood pressure. Because these fish are not broken down easily into sugars, they do not cause blood glucose to fluctuate in diabetes. In this way, fish consumption is an important component of a heart healthy diet for both diabetes and high cholesterol.
