What Diet For High Cholesterol – Many of us dread doctor’s appointments, even when we love our doctors. This is especially true if we’ve been encouraged to change our diet and exercise regimen but haven’t made much progress. Hey, it happens. You blink and another year has passed. But the annual check-ups and adjustments to our self-care are quite important, especially if we are dealing with one of the most common problems facing people today – high cholesterol.
You may be confused about cholesterol’s true impact on heart health because there’s been a lot of buzz about it recently, so I teamed up with Jen Reilly, our resident R.D., to bring you more of the facts on this somewhat hot topic.
What Diet For High Cholesterol
Cholesterol used to be considered the sole determinant of heart disease risk. However, researchers have now found that cholesterol is only one piece of the puzzle (with triglycerides, blood pressure, obesity and diabetes being some of the other pieces) (study).
List Of High Cholesterol Foods To Avoid
A low-fat diet used to be what was recommended to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Dietary recommendations have now changed and are focused on making sure you get enough omega-3 fats, which can raise your good cholesterol, avoid trans fats, and limit saturated fat, which can raise your bad cholesterol.
Some researchers and nutritionists are beginning to downplay the role of saturated fat when it comes to heart disease risk and cholesterol levels (Research Article). However, their conclusions are based on observational studies, which are not as reliable when it comes to showing definitive cause and effect. Saturated fat (and mostly that from animal sources) is still only part of the heart disease equation, but should be limited if you want to keep your ticker and other parts of your body healthy.
New to the heart disease risk party is sugar. Research now points to avoiding simple carbohydrates and added sugar, especially added fructose, as it increases triglyceride levels and other risk factors for heart disease (study). The good news is that many of the heart health recommendations remain the same: plenty of plant-based foods, fiber, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising—and of course, avoiding smoking!
But the fact is that over 102 million adults in the United States have high cholesterol. That’s a lot of people! Although cholesterol is not the only indicator of heart disease – it still matters (study) because it can increase your risk of buildup in the walls of your arteries.
Foods That Lower Cholesterol
So here are the three main warning signs your doctor looks for when monitoring your cholesterol: 1. A low level of good cholesterol (HDL) compared to your total cholesterol level. 2. Bad cholesterol, which contains many of the riskier small, dense particles (there are three kinds of particles, and the smallest is not good for your ticker). 3. High triglycerides (cholesterol’s cousins) (study, study, and study). This can lead to blockages and a heart attack or stroke – not something we want to mess with.
In addition to what we’ve discussed above, here are some additional ways you can adjust your food choices to prevent high cholesterol and heart disease.
Hopefully your doctor has mentioned that food choices, exercise and weight management can have powerful effects on your cholesterol and triglycerides. If not, see if he/she will give you a 6-month chance to make changes and retest your levels before prescribing statins. It usually takes about 6 months for your body to respond to dietary changes, so be patient and persistent.
You’ve probably heard the typical recommendations when it comes to keeping your arteries clear. Eat more vegetables. Stay away from too many saturated animal fats, trans fats and fried foods. Limit sweets and simple carbs that will raise your triglycerides (and possibly raise the worst kind of bad cholesterol). Maintain a healthy weight, reduce stress and exercise. When it comes to the diet portion of your plan, there are some additional tweaks you can make to increase your artery-clearing power.
Top 10 Foods Highest In Cholesterol
To make these tips even easier for you, I’ve created a handy chart of my top 5 cholesterol-lowering recipes below.
If you’re trying to lower your cholesterol and increase your heart health, I hope you have a better understanding of cholesterol’s role in your overall well-being and how you can take a proactive role in keeping it in a healthy range.
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Want to look better and feel your best? Start right here – it’s the ultimate guide to living and eating the crazy sexy way (delicious recipes included!). Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in developed and developing countries. High LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations along with low HDL cholesterol concentrations are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. (1)
Winter Foods That Increase Your Cholesterol Level
To ensure that you maintain heart health, it is important that you consume cholesterol-lowering foods and avoid high-cholesterol foods that lead to inflammation and weight gain.
When it comes to lowering high cholesterol naturally, it is not necessary to simply avoid all high cholesterol foods. In fact, foods containing cholesterol can still be consumed regularly.
It’s all about moderation and balance—eating a combination of nutrient-dense foods that fight inflammation and tackle the root of the problem, while avoiding more harmful, high-cholesterol foods like processed foods and alcohol.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in all cells of the body. Our bodies need cholesterol to make hormones that protect the body, vitamin D and bile salts, which are necessary for the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. In addition, the brain and nervous system depend on cholesterol to create neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.
Why Is My Cholesterol High If I Eat Healthy? A Doctor Weighs In
Our bodies make the cholesterol we need, but we also get cholesterol from our food. If you have too much cholesterol, it starts to build up in your arteries and can lead to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Finally, high cholesterol levels can cause heart and blood flow problems, leading to dangerous blood clots and inflammation that can cause heart attacks and strokes. High cholesterol alone does not determine whether you are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Other factors include your blood pressure, whether or not you smoke, whether or not you have diabetes, and your age, gender and race. (2a)
According to the American Heart Association, many people don’t know their cholesterol is too high because there are usually no symptoms. (2b) High cholesterol can cause a dangerous buildup of cholesterol and other deposits on the walls of your arteries, reducing blood flow through the arteries. This can lead to coronary heart disease and complications, such as chest pain (angina), heart attack and stroke.
Should We Avoid High Cholesterol Foods?
For decades, there have been government-mandated dietary recommendations to limit cholesterol intake to no more than 300 milligrams per day for healthy adults. However, based on recent evidence, there are some serious challenges to this current dietary restriction, which has resulted in discussions about national recommendations finally changing.
The truth is that not all high cholesterol foods are bad for you. In fact, some may even increase HDL cholesterol levels and improve your cardiovascular health.
To distinguish between high cholesterol foods that should be avoided and high cholesterol foods that can still be consumed, the most important factor is inflammation. The foods that lead to weight gain and inflammation are the ones that should be removed from your diet to promote cardiovascular health.
According to the National Cancer Institute, these are the top food sources of cholesterol among people living in the United States: (3)
Ldl Cholesterol: What It Is & How To Lower It
Interestingly, not all of these high cholesterol foods have a negative impact on our overall cholesterol levels. The foods that cause inflammation do the most damage and increase our chances of developing heart disease. (4a) Poor quality animal products are highly inflammatory, as are toxic oils made using chemicals and solvents. Alcohol, sugar, and caffeine are all stimulants that the liver can use to produce more cholesterol, increasing levels of inflammation.
Research shows that increased body weight is associated with high cholesterol levels and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Therefore, losing weight and cutting back on foods that contribute to weight gain and inflammation will help you lower your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. (4b) The following foods should be avoided to reduce LDL and increase HDL cholesterol levels:
When canola oil undergoes hydrogenation, which it often does to become a partially hydrogenated oil, this increases the level of trans fat. These are a group of fats that you want to avoid as much as possible, as they are scientifically known to raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol levels.
Research shows that all fatty acids with one or more bonds in the trans configuration raise the ratio of LDL-to-HDL cholesterol. (5) Other oils that contain trans fats include corn oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, and vegetable oil.
How To Eat Vegetarian When You Have High Cholesterol
Extensive research evaluates the increase in snacking, snacks and ultra-processed foods in the American diet. Some studies show that 66 percent of calories consumed by American citizens come from packaged foods and beverages.
Because snacking and snacking have grown in frequency and number, eating frequency has also increased, leading to higher rates of obesity and high
