Adam Sinicki If you suffer from high cholesterol then your diet becomes of key importance and what you eat will be directly reflected in your levels of cholesterol. Depending on how serious your cholesterol it’s highly prudent to know which foods to avoid. High cholesterol leads to increased likelihood of heart disease, high blood pressure and heart attack, so read the advice in this article and make sure you don’t exacerbate what’s already a serious issue.
The first foods to avoid with high cholesterol are those that are high in saturated fats. That includes both plant and animal sources, although cholesterol is generally caused by animal products. This means avoiding lard, oil, butter, ghee, fat and fatty meats, palm oil and coconut oils. In other words deep fried chips are out as are kebabs and most other forms of fast food as these use vast amounts of oil and fat in their preparation.
That doesn’t mean you should exclude fats completely from your diet however as doing so will result in unhealthy skin, teeth, bones and hair and will damage your body’s ability to utilise protein in maintaining the body. Replace these fats then with vegetable oils, olive oil etc. Similarly try to replace your fattier meats such as lamb with leaner alternatives such as fish or chicken. These are good foods to avoid high cholesterol. Avoid corned beef, bacon, chips, ribs, steak, sausage and mince. For meals such as bolognaise or lasagne try replacing beef mince with quorn mince. Similarly, dairy products and eggs will lead to increased cholesterol but you shouldn’t completely eliminate these from your diet either and there are ways around the problem. For example, replace full fat milk with low fat milk, eat plain low fat yogurt, and when eating eggs try to eat the whites but avoid yolks where possible.
You should also avoid simple carbohydrates, saturated fats and sugars – so limit your intake of sweets cakes and other sugary treats. These can be replaced with more natural snacks such as raisins, grapes or yogurts.
Don’t just think of foods to avoid high cholesterol however as what you drink can have just as much of an impact. Try where possible to limit your alcoholic beverages, as well as carbonated and sugary drinks. Stick instead to mineral water and natural juice drinks.
While avoiding those foods you should look at changing other aspects of your diet – gradually increasing your fibre intake for example. This means increasing citrus fruits, nuts, whole grain bread and pasta and wheat among other things to clear out your system. It may seem as though you’re forced to avoid all of the fun things in your diet, but with a bit of creative thinking you can still enjoy tasty meals that will feel lighter and be far better for your overall health – not just your cholesterol.