Low Cholesterol Diets

Low cholesterol diets are perhaps one of the most difficult forms of diet to understand, read on to find out more………..
Our bodies need a measure of fat because it is a major source of energy; but we also get that energy from other foods as well which are lower in fat. The goal of a low cholesterol diet is to reduce the intake of harmful fat and bad cholesterol and increase the good cholesterol. If your body gets too much fat is affects many systems in our bodies in harmful ways such as, raises high cholesterol which then can contribute to heart disease, and circulatory systems, which can cause strokes. The major contributor to heart disease is high cholesterol and the goal is reducing those factors and is why health care providers are so concerned when somebody presents with a high cholesterol reading. It is up to the health care provider to educate the patient about how he or she can lower their cholesterol and instruct them on the best low cholesterol diets available. What these diets are designed to do is:
• They should decrease their dietary fat intake, especially with saturated fat
• They should decrease their dietary cholesterol intake
• They should limit their sodium intake
• They should increase their intake of fiber and complex carbohydrates
• They should decrease the amount of calories in order to reach a healthy body weight
The recommended dietary allowances (RDA) concerning calorie intake for women is 1200 daily and for men it is 1500, but it may be that the health care provider believes the patient may need to lower the RDA levels and at which point will advise the patient to take a vitamin supplement. These recommendations and low cholesterol diets are designed to help patients lose weight and thus reduce the cholesterol levels.
There are two kinds of fats one can get in their daily diet; saturated fats and unsaturated fats. Saturated fats stay solid when left at room temperature and unsaturated fats don’t; they turn to liquid form at room temperature. To lower cholesterol levels you should reduce how much saturated fats you consume. You find these bad fats in some meats and dairy products that are made from whole milk. It is important to remember the difference as it means the difference in lowering your cholesterol levels significantly. Low cholesterol diets should be taken seriously and patients that have been advised to follow these types of diets should be very aware of the foods that they eat.
There are other things patients can do to help stay on track to keep their cholesterol levels down:
• Avoid alcohol and sugar because they have a lot of calories and not many nutrients.
• Quit smoking and get into a routine of regular exercise; aerobic exercise is best if you can do them for 20 to 30 minutes a day
• A good food to eat when on low cholesterol diets is to eat fish at least 3 times a week; it has been proven that certain types of fish such as salmon, herring, and tuna have a fatty acid called “Omega-3” which can help reduce your blood cholesterol levels.
• You should cut back on high sodium foods which can cause high blood pressure and lead to high cholesterol levels.
• You should get plenty of fiber, choose red meats carefully to avoid high fat contents, and if you go out to eat, try to find a restaurant that offers low cholesterol diets on their menu; a great many restaurants have added these types of items to their menus which makes it much easier for you to enjoy a night out.
It is very important for the sake of your health to continue working with your diet and keeping in touch with your health care provider; you should monitor your cholesterol as often as they think it is needed to make sure you have taken all the right steps during the low cholesterol diets your health care provider has instructed you to be on.
Category: Uncategorized

