A high cholesterol diet alone usually does not bring the desired effect, it only helps with medication. Without it, however, the treatment will not work.
When compiling the menu, not only the blood cholesterol level of a person should be considered, but also their gender and age. You do not have to leave such a diet because in this case you will have to follow a therapeutic diet for the rest of your life.
What Does High Cholesterol Mean?
Cholesterol (cholesterol) is a steroid that is essential for the human body. It plays an important role in lipid metabolism and is involved in the production of hormones. This substance is present in every cell in the body, even the brain. However, the situation is dangerous if cholesterol levels rise.
Cholesterol molecules are transported to tissues by proteins. They have several types:
- High density lipoproteins (HDL). This is called "good" cholesterol. The excess fat is absorbed, transported to the liver, where it is converted into bile acids, which are then excreted through the intestines.
- Low density lipoproteins (LDL). This is "bad" cholesterol. Its molecules are delivered to the tissues. With elevated levels of LDL, excess of this substance is deposited, forming plaques that lead to cardiovascular disease.
- Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). They are considered to be the most dangerous type because they transport fats such as triglycerides from the liver to the tissues.
If you need a low-cholesterol diet, it means that a person has high levels of LDL, and that is the "bad" cholesterol that you need to lower.
Diet Basics
A high cholesterol hypocholesterol diet can be observed throughout life. This is not a completely cholesterol-free diet, as it is impossible to remove all cholesterol-containing foods from your diet. Recent studies have shown that if completely ruled out, the situation leads to neurological and endocrine disorders.
Principles of dietary nutrition:
- Consume at least 400 g of fruits and vegetables per day. Their share can even be increased. The consumption of starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and pumpkins, is allowed, but in limited quantities, up to a physiologically acceptable standard. Their cholesterol load is low but they contain carbohydrates.
- Use of vegetable protein at the expense of legumes in the absence of kidney disease.
- A fractional diet in which the total amount of food is divided into 5-6 meals. This will help ensure that the gallbladder is drained.
- Limit your salt intake to 5 g per day.
- Pickled, salty and smoked foods, excluding soda ash.
- Sugar consumption at the level of 5 teaspoons. in a day. The amount is included with all drinks and food.
- Weight control.
If necessary, you can spend fasting days with vegetables, apples or kefir. If you are overweight, start with a low-cholesterol diet of cottage cheese or vegetables and then continue with your anti-cholesterol diet.
Prohibited products
A standard LDL-lowering diet limits or completely eliminates high-fat foods. Prohibited include:
- fatty meats and fish;
- offal;
- cream and skimmed milk;
- margarine.
This alone can lower your cholesterol by 10-15%. Sometimes it is not even necessary to follow a diet. It is enough to refuse the listed products and add more vegetables and fruits, fish and seafood, vegetable fats to the menu every day.
When compiling your diet, it is important to note that it is not necessary to completely rule out fats in order to lower your cholesterol. Their proportions are determined individually, depending on the severity of the disease. Sometimes it has to be reduced by 20%, but in general the restrictions are not as significant. Vegetable oils should also be used with caution, at most, as they contribute to the accumulation of harmful substances in the body.
Reduce your carbohydrate intake. But with normal body weight and glucose levels, you can slightly increase the proportion of complex carbohydrates to supply your body with energy.
To reduce the fat and cholesterol in your daily menu, you should follow these rules:
- the fat is cut from the meat, the skin is necessarily removed from the poultry;
- vegetables are never cooked with meat because they absorb fat;
- any recipe adapts to this diet, reducing fat content (e. g. , taking lower-fat sour cream);
- rice dishes, mashed potatoes, pasta are cooked without butter.
Also use non-stick cookware to avoid baking.
Approved products
A hypocholesterolemic diet allows for the following products:
- Lean meats and fish. The most useful is cold sea fish, which contains omega-3 acids that affect fat metabolism.
- Vegetable oils that bind and remove cholesterol (not just olive oil but also soybean or canola oil).
- Dairy products, including cottage cheese, sour cream, low - fat cheese.
- Nuts, especially walnuts and almonds, are high in vitamins, folic acid, magnesium and arginine. However, they contain a lot of calories, so you need to eat small amounts.
- Cereals - buckwheat, rice, oatmeal.
- Eggs - no more than 2-4 per week, depending on your health.
- Soy products. They are very useful, but we are only talking about good quality goods, such as eating tofu.
- Foods containing dietary fiber are wheat and oat bran.
- Fruits, especially apples and citrus fruits, as they lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots.
Bread can be eaten, but only in the form of yesterday’s baking or toast. Tea is also included in the daily diet. However, to reduce potential damage, it should be weak and contain a minimal amount of sugar.
Food recipes
Adherence to an anti-cholesterol diet does not mean that a person is constantly forced to eat the same foods.
By using cholesterol-lowering foods, you can create a healthy and tasty menu for proper nutrition.
citrus jam
Citrus fruits contain many pectins that are involved in digestive processes. It forms a very viscous mass that helps remove cholesterol from the body before it enters the bloodstream. Citrus fruits are good in any form. They can be eaten raw as part of a fruit salad and can be used to make jam.
To prepare, note:
- orange - 1 piece;
- grapefruit - 1 db;
- lemon - 1 db;
- sugar - 0. 5 kg;
- water - 500 ml.
Cooking:
- Wash the citrus fruits, unscrewing the juice from the pulp.
- Cut coarse white strands from the husk and cut into thin strips.
- The raw materials are placed in a pan.
- Add juice and water.
- Boil for 12-20 minutes.
- Add sugar and keep on low heat until the mixture reaches a viscous state. If it cools, it will become jam.
White bean soup with herbs
Legumes - lentils, beans, peas - contain dietary fiber that is good for the cardiovascular system. They are high in protein and can replace fatty meats in the diet. They are made in different ways. The Mediterranean cuisine includes a variety of legumes. For example, you can cook white bean soup with herbs.
To do this you will need:
- dry white beans - 1 tbsp;
- light bulb - 1 piece;
- carrots - 1 piece;
- chopped celery stalk - 1 pc. ;
- weak chicken broth - 0, 5 l;
- water - 0, 5 l;
- salt and spices - to taste.
Cooking:
- The beans are soaked overnight and then boiled for 2 hours. It turns out that about 500-600 g of finished product.
- Simmer the onions, carrots and celery for 8-10 minutes.
- Pour the beans into the pan and add the vegetables.
- Pour over broth and water.
- Add salt and spices.
- Boil.
- Leave on low heat for another 15 minutes.
- Take half of the bean-vegetable mass out of the soup, beat it in a blender and put it back to the other ingredients.
It will be a very thick soup into which various fresh herbs are added before serving.
carrot slices
Carrots are another product that can lower cholesterol, due in part to the pectin it contains. You can cook meatballs out of it.
Required:
- medium carrots - 3 pieces;
- eggs - 3 pcs. ;
- flour - about 5-6 tablespoons. l. with a slide;
- salt to taste.
Cooking:
- The carrots are crushed on a coarse grater.
- Add the eggs, flour and salt.
- Everything is mixed.
- The cutlets are fried in a non-stick pan, without oil or in the oven, turning several times.
sweet pepper salad
Sweet peppers strengthen blood vessels and remove cholesterol. You can make a healthy salad from it.
To do this, you need:
- pepper - 2 pcs;
- onions - 2 pieces;
- greens - to taste;
- for vegetable oil dressing.
Cooking:
- Cut the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with herbs.
- Filled with vegetable oil.
Baked eggplant with ham
These vegetables are high in potassium and normalize metabolism. You can cook eggplant fried with low-fat ham.
This will require:
- eggplant - 2 pieces;
- ham - 100 g;
- low-fat sour cream - 3 tbsp. l. ;
- grated cheese - 70-80 g;
- greens - to taste.
Cooking:
- The eggplant is washed, cut in half and spread on a baking sheet.
- The ham is crushed and mixed with chopped herbs.
- Add sour cream.
- Spread the mixture on the eggplant and fry for 15 minutes.
You can experiment with any known recipe, changing the ingredients to more useful ones.
diet for high cholesterol in women
With normal blood cholesterol levels, you don’t need an anti-cholesterol diet, it can even be harmful. It is therefore necessary to know the indicators for which such a diet is indicated. The standard for women is shown in the following table:
| Disease | Total cholesterol, mmol / l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol / l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol / l |
| 35-40 years old | 6. Until 27 | Not more than 4, 45 | Not more than 2, 12 |
| They are 40-45 years old | 6, 53 | Not more than 4, 51 | Not more than 2, 28 |
| 45-50 years old | 6, to 66 | Not more than 4, 82 | Not more than 2, 25 |
| They are 50-55 years old | 7. until 15 | Not more than 5, 21 | Not more than 2, 38 |
| 55-60 years old | 7, to 77 | Not more than 5, 44 | Not more than 2, 35 |
| They are 60-65 years old | 7, 69 | Not more than 5, 80 | Not more than 2, 38 |
Appropriate blood tests and results should be performed. If your "bad" cholesterol levels are higher than normal, an anti-cholesterol diet is needed. They have been following for a long time. Depending on your medical condition, it may be necessary for a lifetime.
The sample menu for women for 7 days looks like this:
| The day of the week | diet |
| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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| Friday |
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| Saturday |
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| Sunday |
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This menu is adapted to age and other chronic conditions. For example, women over the age of 60 should limit their meat consumption in favor of fish and dairy products. This is especially true for people with arthritis and arthritis, as the meat contains substances that promote arthritis. With high sugar, carbohydrates should be restricted.
Characteristics of an anticholesterol diet in men
The table of cholesterol standards for men is as follows:
| Disease | Total cholesterol, mmol / l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol / l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol / l |
| 35-40 years old | 6, to 99 | Not more than 4, 90 | Not more than 1, 60 |
| They are 40-45 years old | 6, to 94 | Not more than 4, 82 | Not more than 1, 73 |
| 45-50 years old | 7. until 15 | Not more than 5, 23 | Not more than 1, 66 |
| They are 50-55 years old | 7. to 17 | Not more than 5, 10 | Not more than 1, 63 |
| 55-60 years old | 7. until 15 | Not more than 5, 26 | Not more than 1, 84 |
| They are 60-65 years old | 7. until 15 | Not more than 5, 44 | Not more than 1, 91 |
A man's sample menu for a week might look like this:
| The day of the week | diet |
| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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| Friday |
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| Saturday |
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| Sunday |
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Men also have age-related nutritional characteristics, which are associated with the fact that physical activity gradually decreases, so less protein is needed than with intense exercise.
Age specifics of nutrition
You should monitor your diet with increased bad cholesterol, but it is important to do so with age-specific characteristics in mind.
Up to 40 years
The rate of metabolism is still high, but is gradually declining. The main task of the diet is to speed up the metabolic processes.
In this case, animal protein is still important, so you should maintain your lean meat intake at least 3-4 times a week.
At the age of 40-50
At this point, hormonal changes begin in the body, reducing the need for animal protein.
It is recommended to reduce meat consumption to 2 times a week, include more fish in the diet. Instead of coffee, you should drink herbal or ginger tea.
At the age of 50-60
The rate of metabolic processes is further slowed down, which also reduces the role of cholesterol, which is no longer needed in such amounts.
At this time, whole milk should be completely discarded, replaced by sour dairy products.
After 60 years
Meat can be eaten up to a week, eggs up to 3 times a week. The body may be deficient in iron and iodine, so it is advisable to eat more buckwheat, sea fish and other foods that contain these substances.
diet for overweight
Dietary nutrition is necessary for everyone, regardless of body weight, from a certain age. But if someone has severe obesity, they need a low-carb program.
Therefore, sweets, pastries, some fruits (grapes and dates) are left out of the diet and only healthy carbohydrates are left in cereals, vegetables, and so on.