Diet to Lower Cholesterol

Before you start taking cholesterol medication, you should really consider amending your diet to lower cholesterol.

Now it's easy to make suggestions like losing weight, but it is an important point if you want lower cholesterol levels. It's equally important to consider the type and amount of fat you're consuming regularly.

There may be hidden sources in your foods so pay particular attention to the nutrition labels on packaged foods.  

The easiest diet to lower cholesterol isn't even a diet. It's a change of emphasis from red meat and dairy products to fish, fruit and vegetables. You should probably aim to keep your total fat intake at no higher than 30%. You should also consider the type of fat you're consuming too. The various fat types all of different risk factors for things like heart disease and high cholesterol.

Saturated fats come from meats and dairy. They're also usually present in take-out food. This type of fat is known to increase your blood cholesterol so try to reduce the amount you eat. Polyunsaturated fats are found in things like vegetable oil and Soya oil. Some spreads may be high in polyunsaturated too. Monounsaturates are actually the good guys of the fat world. Olive oil is probably the best known.

Think of how healthy people are living on a Mediterranean diet, rich in fish and vegetables and olive oil. Trans fats are best avoided. They're made by bubbling hydrogen gas through liquid oil until it changes texture. It becomes more like a plastic polymer. If you want to double your risk of heart disease, keep eating trans fats.For anyone who wants to live longer and healthier, run from them as fast as you can. You may see them listed as trans fats, or in some cases as hydrogenated oils. Some packaging even has it down as shortening. It all means the same thing.

An old favorite for good health is fiber, sometimes called roughage. And it seems to lower cholesterol in your diet by virtually soaking it up. Fiber can help you with weight control too. Think of oats and that kind of food.

And finally, some people recommend making a switch to Soya milk. It seems that a small amount of Soya protein every day can help, but only if you keep saturated fats low as part of your overall diet to lower cholesterol.