Eating is one of the things that can affect your cholesterol level a great deal.  If you have too high cholesterol, the foods you eat can be one of the things you can control to most effectively and quickly lower your cholesterol. In fact, if you have elevated levels of high cholesterol, a healthy diet is the one thing that you must absolutely do in order to ensure heart health.

Adapting to a Cholesterol Friendly Diet

Once your doctor has confirmed that you have high cholesterol, you can take steps to regain your health by following a low cholesterol and low fat diet. Being true to such a healthful diet will ensure that you can reduce total cholesterol levels by as much as 15 percent.  As an added benefit, this sort of diet will also make you feel generally healthier and more energetic as well.

You will benefit further with a regular exercise schedule and this will raise your  "good" HDL levels for a total package of healthy living. Do this and within as short as 30 days you will experience a renewed sense of energy and vitality. The effects over all will be immediate.
 
Following a low cholesterol and low fat diet necessitates that you must do the following:

• Get less than 7% of your day's total calories from saturated fat.  In fact, try to lower your saturated fat intake as far as possible.  Your doctor may even recommend that you get a smaller percentage of your calories from saturated fat, especially if you have very high cholesterol.

• Receive 25_35% or less of your day's total calories from fat.  Again, your doctor may recommend that you consume an even smaller (or a larger) amount of fat than this. 

• Consume less than 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol each day, or follow the limits for dietary cholesterol that your doctor sets for you.

• Limit your sodium intake to 2400 milligrams a day. Sea salt is a better option, but reducing your intake of all salts is the better choice.

• You should be resolved to eat only enough calories to improve your healthy weight and reduce your blood cholesterol level. Being overweight can contribute to cholesterol and to heart ailments. If you need assistance seek out a nutritionist or dietician.

• Refuse foods made with harmful trans fats such as margarine, salad dressing and sauces.

• Enjoy foods high in soluble fiber.  These foods include:

    • Oats, rye, and barley

    • Fruits (especially try oranges and pears)

    • Vegetables (especially brussel sprouts and carrots)

    • Dried peas and beans


• Avoid the Following Foods for Best Health:
 
• High cholesterol foods can increase your level of blood cholesterol.  High cholesterol foods include:

    • Organ meats (this includes liver, which may be eaten in small quantities)

    • Egg yolks
    • Full fat dairy products

• Fried and processed foods are often high in fat and salt, which can wreak havoc on your heart health. Limit and eat only in moderation if at all:

• Highly processed foods, and especially processed meats such as deli meats, sausages, hot dogs, bologna, salami and fatty red meats

• All foods that are fried, especially deep fried foods

• You will produce meals that have lower saturated fats when you try the following methods of food preparation:

    • Bake
    • Broil
    • Microwave
    • Poach
    • Steam
    • Grill
    • Roast (only if you remove fats that are melted in the process)
    • Lightly stir-fry or sauté using low-fat and low-salt broth

Selecting your Foods
 Enjoy a wide variety of foods regularly, including select cuts of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts each week.
 
You can further keep your blood cholesterol levels low by doing the following:

• Choose chicken and turkey that has the skin removed. You can keep the skin on to seal in the juices so long as you remove the skin before eating.
• When selecting meat, choose leaner cuts, white meat, and cuts that have less white “marbleized” texture.  The white “marble” is fat that can increase your cholesterol.
• Select fish such as cod that has less saturated fat than even chicken or other meats.
• Even the leanest cuts of meat, chicken, fish, and shellfish have saturated fat and cholesterol so limit your daily intake to 6 ounces or less.
• Remember:  You can increase soluble fiber if LDL is not lowered enough from reducing saturated fat and cholesterol.

Making Healthy Eating Better
One of the best things you can do for your cholesterol levels is to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.  Not only do these foods have no dietary cholesterol that can raise your bad cholesterol levels, but some fruits and vegetables have been linked to lowering cholesterol in patients.  Research studies have proven numerous times that one of the best things you can do for yourself if you are worried about your cholesterol level is to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.

Studies also often show that North Americans eat far less fresh fruits and vegetables than they should eat, a fact that has often been suggested as a key cause for the higher cholesterol levels and heart disease levels - not to mention the higher rates of obesity - that North Americans face.  To put it simply, those nations that eat more fruits, vegetables, and grains are healthier - and have lower cholesterol levels as a whole.

As an added bonus, you do not have to worry as much about eating too many fruits and vegetables.  While you do not want to overeat, you can eat far more fresh fruits and vegetables than meat products and remain heart healthy. You can only eat small portions of animal products before you have to worry about cholesterol content.  With vegetables and fruits, there is no such worry.  If you have always felt deprived while following low-fat diets in the past, you can avoid this in the future simply by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Increasing your intake of fresh (not canned, not poached, not sweetened or boiled) fruits and vegetables significantly should be your first goal as you try to lower your cholesterol over the next 30 days. 

One of the easiest ways to introduce more fruits and vegetables into the diet is to eat different types of fruits and vegetables.  When most of us think of “veggies” we think only of a few.  In fact, there are many types of delicious fresh produce out there that can create spectacular meals while lowering your cholesterol.  Consider all the vegetables you may not have tried yet (please note that this list is not complete - there are too many vegetables to list here - and please note that some of these vegetables may be classified as fruits):

Alfalfa sprouts
Anise
Artichoke
Arugula
Asparagus
Avocado
Beans (there are many different kinds of beans, from black beans, borlotti beans, broad beans, chickpeas, green beans, kidney beans, runner beans, soy beans, red beans, mung beans, navy beans, lima beans to azuki beans, and many others)
Bean sprouts
Lentils
Peas (again, there are many delicious brands of peas, many which you likely have not tried before.  These may include snow peas, green peas, sugar snap peas, and many others)
Beets and beet greens
Bok choy
Breadfruit
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage (there are many kinds, ranging from red and green to Chinese cabbage and others)
Calabrese
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Chicory
Collard
Corn
Celeriac
Daikon
Eggplant
Endive
Fennel (whole fennel, not just the seeds, can be used in cooking)
Fiddleheads
Frisee
Garlic
Chives
Kai_lan
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leek
Lemon grass
Onions
Lettuce (if you have always eaten iceberg lettuce, you will be stunned by the range of lettuces out there, including Bibb and many others)
Mushrooms (although mushrooms are usually served alongside vegetables, it is a fungus.  There are many types of mushrooms, from the common to the exotic, and they can easily be bought fresh or dried to add flavor to just about every meal)
Mustard greens
Nettles
Okra
Peppers (from hot peppers like the habanero and others to sweet green, orange, yellow and red peppers, these vegetables are very good for you and extremely tasty)
Spinach
Radicchio
Rapini
Parsnips
Radishes
Rutabaga
Turnip and turnip greens
Skirret
Squashes (there are many of these, from butternut to acorn to pumpkins and gourds.  Also be sure to try gem squash and spaghetti squash)
Zucchini
Cucumber
Tomatoes (these range from hot house tomatoes to cherry and grape tomatoes - their taste, not just their size, differs)
Tubers
Potatoes (from yams and sweet potatoes to new potatoes, red potatoes, and others, these vegetables present an almost infinite variety)
Water chestnuts
Watercress


Consider also all the fresh fruits you may not have tried yet:

Apples (there is an almost infinite variety of these, some quite rare.  Try the following varieties:
Akane, Arlet, Blushing Golden, Braeburn, Centennial Crab, Chieftain, Cortland, Empire, Empress, Fuji, Gala, Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Kandil Sinap, Liberty, Mantet, Mcintosh, Mutsu,
Northern Spy, Patricia, Red Astrachan, Red Secor, Russet, Starr, Virginia Gold, Yataka, Yellow Transparent, Wilson Juicy, and the many others available at your grocery store and farmer’s market)
Apricots
Bananas (try Fruit Bananas, Apple Bananas, Baby Bananas, Baking Bananas, Red bananas, and others)
Berries (besides the usual strawberries and raspberries, there are dewberries, boysenberries,  loganberries, cloudberries, wineberries, bearberries, bilberries, blueberries, cranberries, huckleberries, lingonberries, barberries, currants, elderberries, gooseberries, nannyberries, sea grapes, crowberries, and others)
Cherries (from sour cherries, Monmorency cherries, and sweet cherries such as Black Russians, Chinooks, Lapins, Hedelfingers, and others)
Clementines
Dates
Figs
Grapefruits
Grapes (there are many, many kinds, ranging from pale greens to very deep purples)
Guava
Kiwis
Kumquats
Lemons and Limes
Lychee fruits
Mangos
Melons (Red water, Canary, Canteloupe, Cassava, Honeydew, Watermelon, and others)
Nectarines
Oranges
Papayas
Passion Fruits
Peaches (including Encore, Reliance, Red Haven, and Sensation Dwarf Peach, among others)
Pears (including Asian pears, Beirschmidt, Bartlett, and others)
Persimmons
Pineapples
Plums (including Mt. Royal Plum, Opal, Stanley Prune_Plum, Unize Plum, Dietz, Empress Prune_Plum, Starking Delicious Plum, and many others)
Pomegranates
Pummelo
Rhubarb
Star Fruit
Sweety
Qunices
Tangerines
Tangelos
Ugli Fruits

Are there fruits and vegetables on this list that you have not tried?  There likely are. The fact is, most of us have tried only a small fraction of the fruits and vegetables that are out there.  When we say that we “don’t like” fruits and vegetables or when we say that we “grow tired” of them, what we are really saying is that we do not have enough variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in our diet.

Look back over the list of fruits and vegetables - treat it like a checklist of the food adventures you could have with food.  Which foods sound exotic or interesting?  Take a chance today and pick up some fresh fruits or vegetables that you have never tried before. Your taste buds and your cholesterol level will thank you for it.  Realize that these lists of fruits and vegetables is far from complete - it is only a way to get you started in discovering new fruits and vegetables.  Make it a mission to find new and exciting fruits and vegetables that you can enjoy fresh to lower your cholesterol.

The secret to low-fat eating is to make eating the right foods as attractive as possible.  When you have many types of healthy and delicious foods to choose from, you will naturally choose foods that are good for you and for your heart.  Introducing a huge variety of fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet is one sure way to do this.

Over the next 30 days, use this list of fruits and vegetables.  Print the list and circle all the fruits and vegetables you have not tried.  Make it a mission to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables you have not tried. 

In fact, every week, find a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables you have not tried and try them.  Read about new varieties of fruits and vegetables and try them as well.  This will add variety to your diet and make it much easier to eat plenty of the foods you need to lower your cholesterol and stay healthy.

Cooking and Cholesterol
If you want to lower your cholesterol, you will want to cook your own meals more often.  This is because many restaurants add lots of fat and salt to their foods in order to cheaply add texture and taste. Convenience foods, of course, are notorious for offering poor nutrition and plenty of fat, salt, and sugar. 

If you want to lower your cholesterol over the next 30 days, avoid all fast-food, convenience, and prepackaged meals.

This isn’t hard to do, even if you are lost in the kitchen.  There are a number of very fast and easy ways to ensure that you can whip up tasty and cholesterol-friendly meals - no matter how harried your schedule:

• If you are very busy and tired at the end of a long day, a salad and sandwich take less time to put together than it takes to phone the pizza parlor. Wrap some veggies in a tortilla, cut more veggies into a salad, and drizzle the salad with olive oil and lemon juice.  Use a mashed avocado or salt-free salsa as the “dressing” on your sandwich.  Soups and stir-fries are other kitchen friends of busy people who aren’t very handy in the kitchen.

• Keep fresh ingredients on hand and don’t tempt yourself by keeping convenience foods and junk food in your house.

• Choose fresh ingredients - the very freshest you can.  Not only is this healthier for you, but you will need less fat and salt in your cooking if your food ingredients are flavorful on their own.

• Find low-fat and cholesterol-friendly recipes in cookbooks and plan to make these recipes.  There are many recipe books at your local library - and many of these feature heart-healthy and fast recipes that can make cholesterol-friendly eating a snap.  Don’t overlook cookbooks that feature Chinese, Japanese, Raw food, Vegan, and Indian recipes.  These are often heart-friendly and contain enough variety to keep you happy with your low-fat diet forever.   
• Buy some fresh herbs.  Use these to add flavor to your cooking rather than relying on salt.  If you must use salt, use only a pinch of the best sea salt you are able to buy.

• If you have recipes you cannot part with, switch ingredients to healthier alternatives.  Use good olive oil instead of butter, low-fat products instead of the regular kind and experiment with cutting salt out of recipes entirely.

Cooking to lower your cholesterol is not very hard.  There are a few basic foods that almost anyone can make that can keep your health in good shape:

Salads: Even if you are not an excellent cook, you can easily create a salad that is enticing.  Simply chop up some favorite salad greens (mescalin mix, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, herbs) and garnish with a few nuts.  You can make your own dressing by mixing herbs (such as basil or thyme) and a squirt of lemon or you can choose prepared dressings that are very low in salt and fats.  You can also create a very low fat salad dressing by combining half an avocado with some herbs and lemon juice. Avoid croutons, bacon bits, whole milk products such as chesses, eggs, and other high-fat foods in your salads.  If you do want to add meat to your salad, opt for skinless poultry.

Fruit Salads: Chopping up some of your favorite fruits, berries, and lemons can make a beautiful and attractive salad that is very low fat.  If you are using apples or other fruits that tend to “brown” in your salad, a squirt of lemon juice over your salad will keep your fruit salad attractive and healthy.  A fruit salad is an especially excellent choice for breakfast or a later meal and is appropriate even for those who have very high cholesterol and so must follow a very low-fat and very low-cholesterol diet.

Sandwiches: Sandwiches are quite easy to make.  Simply choose healthy breads or pitas or tortillas that are low in fats and salts and choose lots of vegetables for your sandwiches.  Avoid highly processed deli and sandwich meats.  Instead, use lean and skinless chicken or other poultry. Instead of fats or mayonnaise on your sandwiches - which can increase the fat content of you sandwiches considerably - choose to flavor your sandwich with fresh sweet onions or low-sodium mustard or salsa.

Pastas: There are a number of pastas available, from fresh pasta or dried pasta to vegetable pastas and rice pastas.  All can be made into delicious and heart-friendly meals in minutes.  Simply cook the pasta in a pot.  Shred your favorite vegetables or cut them into very small pieces.  Combine the vegetables with some low-sodium and low-fat chicken or vegetable broth and cook until vegetables are softer but still crisp.  Add the pasta and toss until the vegetables are the desired consistency.  Add your favorite fresh herbs (basil is a good choice) and combine. This can be a very tasty combination and is still quite healthy for you.  You can make similar meals with rice or even low-fat tofu. Many prepared pasta dishes use plenty of salt or cream-based sauces, but some combination of this recipe can give you a tasty meal with less fat.

Smoothie: Combine your favorite fresh fruits in a blender with fresh fruit juice and a small squirt of honey.  Combine until blended.  This makes an excellent and very healthy snack.  It can also be a great quick breakfast on days when you are in a rush. Experiment with different fruit combinations to find different tastes.  Chilling or even freezing some of the fruit before serving can produce a nice chilled drink that is perfect for summer.  If you are craving desserts, you can add a small amount of very low fat frozen yogurt to this recipe and use frozen fruits to get a tasty and heart-friendly alternative to ice cream and other desserts.

Grilled dishes: Brushing vegetables and lean meats with lemon juice and herbs and grilling on the barbeque is a great way to enjoy fat-free good-for-you foods that are easy and fast to create. 

Lean meat dishes: When you have chosen your lean cuts of meat, you can make these foods even healthier by reducing the amount of fat you use in preparing them.  For example, marinating poultry and other meats in lemon juice and fresh dill or in pureed fruits and vegetables is a heart-friendly way to get plenty of flavor into your cooking without adding fat.  At many fish shops, you can get planks of cedar that are perfect for baking or grilling fish - simply place the fish on the cedar, cover with lemon juice and possibly herbs and grill or bake until done. 

Desserts and Snacks: Limiting desserts and snacks in general can help you control your weight and your calories intake and so keep your heart healthy.  If you absolutely crave a dessert or snack, though, try to stave off the craving with fresh fruit.  If this does not work, occasionally eating low-fat desserts and snacks such as angel food cake, fig and fruit bars, low-fat yogurt, fruit sherbert, Jello, animal or graham crackers, wafers, puddings made with low-fat milk that make lower-fat alternatives.  However, these products still do often contain sodium, plenty of calories and some fats, so overindulging in these will certainly not allow you to keep your heart healthy. Also, take care to read the labels on these snacks and choose the brands with the least sugar, calories, fat, and salt that you can.

REVIEW
 A low cholesterol diet is achieved by eating foods low in saturated fat and concentrating on the following:

• Use herbs instead of salt in cooking.

• Consume fat free, skim, or 1% dairy products

• Watch out for bottled and canned drinks and especially for sports beverages - many are very high in sodium, calories, and sugars.

• Choose only lean meats. Enjoy white meats, fish, and poultry rather than red meats.

• Eat plenty of fish

• Enjoy only skinless poultry
• Select plenty of whole grain foods

• Eat lots of fruits

• Read food labels and choose foods low in fats (especially saturated, polyunsaturated, and hydrogenated fats), sodium, and cholesterol

• Choose fresh rather than processed, spiced, prepared, pickled or tinned foods. If you cannot find fresh produce out of season, try frozen foods that have no sauces or other ingredients added.

• Eat lots of vegetables