You can improve your cholesterol profile by making a few adjustments to your diet. First, you can moderate your intake of nutrients that contribute to high bad cholesterol, and you add ingredients that are heart healthy. Generally speaking, your goal is to cut your saturated fats and trans fats, increase monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and consume more fiber and plant sterols.
Bad Fats Equal Bad Cholesterol
Saturated fat from your diet is the primary driver of "bad" cholesterol in your bloodstream, says the National Cholesterol Education Program of the American Heart Association. Even worse, trans fats lower the amount of good cholesterol you have. The role of good cholesterol is to help your body dispose of bad cholesterol. As a result of eating too much trans fat, you may experience more bad cholesterol lingering in your system longer. The National Cholesterol Program, a service of the National Institutes of Health, recommends that you limit saturated fats to no more than 7 percent of your total calories. That's 140 calories, or 15.5 g of saturated fat for a typical 2,000-calorie eating plan. Animal fat is a major source of saturated fat, so you want to avoid eating fatty meat, poultry skin and oils from animal fat. Milk and dairy products in their full-fat versions contain high saturated fats. These foods converge in foods like pizza, cheeses, grain-based and dairy-based desserts, and products like bacon, ribs, franks and sausage. Trans fats are found in shortening, margarine, french fries and processed snack and dessert foods.
Good Fats for Health
It's not easy to reduce your saturated fat so low when you are used to consuming a lot of meat. One healthful tip is to replace as much as your saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat as you can. These fats are heart-healthy. NYU's Langone Medical Center says unsaturated fat can lower your total cholesterol, while monounsaturated fat can improve your good cholesterol. Some easy fixes are changing your cooking oil. Use olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn and sesame oil. Also, use these oils in place of butter or other processed spreads. Moreover, eat more fish in place of meat. By eating fish like salmon, trout, herring, mackerel, tuna and sardines, you get protein while lowering saturated fat and increasing your healthy fats. Nuts and seeds are also good protein--unsaturated fat combinations.
Fiber Facts
Soluble fiber blocks cholesterol from being absorbed in your intestines. The National Cholesterol Education Program's cholesterol-lowering diet recommends that you get up to 25 g of soluble fiber daily. You'll find them in whole fruits like bananas and apples with the skin on, whole grain foods like oatmeal and oat bran, and legumes like beans and lentils.
Sterols and Stanols
Fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds contain substances known as plant sterols and stanols that are effective cholesterol fighters. Harvard's Joslin Diabetes Center says their chemical structures are a lot like cholesterol, and like fiber, they prevent the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines. They can lower your bad cholesterol by 6 to 14 percent in a few weeks. The University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources recommends that you eat five to nine servings of vegetables and fruits and six to 11 servings of whole grains as part of your cholesterol-lowering diet.
References
- National Cholesterol Education Program; Your Guide to Lower Your Cholesterol with TLC; December 2005
- American Heart Association: Know Your Fats
- USDA: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
- NYU Langone Medical Center: Cholesterol-Lowering Diet
- University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Nutrition and Health Info Sheet: Cholesterol; 2007
- Joslin Diabetes Center: Lower Your Cholesterol with Sterols and Stanols
