Lowering cholesterol through diet
What is the proper diet for cholesterol?
For people who do not consider to undertake a completely vegetable diet, the following list, based on the Spanish Society of Arteriosclerosis, shows a series of recommendations that should be taken into account when you have high blood cholesterol levels:
| Food suitable and not suitable for cholesterol | ||
| EAT DAILY (Low cholesterol foods) | EAT WITH MODERATION – only 3 times a week- (Medium cholesterol foods) | NOT RECOMMENDED (High cholesterol foods) |
| Eggs | ||
| Only the white | 3 maximum each week | |
| Meat | ||
| Chicken and turkey without skin | Lamb, pork, ham, beef, veal or cow (only the lean parts. (Chicken or beef sausages) | Sausages, intestines, pâtés, sausages, hamburgers, bacon, pates, duck |
| Fish and shellfish | ||
| Blue fish, white fish, canned tuna, clams or oysters | Canned sardines, canned mackerel, shrimps, prawns, mussels, crayfish, salt cod | ” Mojama” (= salt-cured tuna), fish fried in not vegetable oil |
| Milk | ||
| Skimmed milk and skimmed milk derivatives | Fresh cheese or low fat cheese | Whole milk, custard, cream, cheese cream or fatty cheese or cured cheese |
| Oil of fat | ||
| Olive oil | Margarine or seed oils that do not contain hydrogenated fats (trans fatty acids) | Palm oil, coconut oil, lard, butter, margarine, bacon, |
| Sauces and spices | ||
| Garlic and oil sauce, mustard, pepper, vinegar | Sauce bechamel or mayonnaise | Not skimmed milk sauces, animal fat, butter or margarine. |
| Vegetables, legumes and fruits | ||
| In general all are suitable | Olives, avocados, potatoes fried in suitable oil (should be limited in cases of obesity or hypertriglicerids) | Coconut, fritters in saturated vegetable oils,, chips. |
| Cereals | ||
| Preferably whole cereals products: biscuits, bread, pasta, flour (in case of obesity you should limit them) | Pasta prepared with seed oil or olive oil, Italian egg pasta (should be limited in cases of obesity or hypertriglicerids) | Muffins, croissants, biscuits or industrial products which contain inappropriate saturated fats. |
| Dry fruits | ||
| Generally all (sunflower seeds should not be salted) | Peanuts | Salted peanuts, coconut and salted sunflower seeds |
| Beverages | ||
| Mineral water, fruit juices, homemade, sugar-free drinks. Infusions (Limit coffee and tea to three servings per day) | Drinks with sugar | |
| Sweets | ||
| Honey, sugar, jam. Desserts made with skimmed milk | Sweets, marzipan, nougat, homemade pasta, pudding without egg. Sweets made from seed oils or olive. | Chocolate, not homemade cakes, industrial pies or ice cream or sweets made with whole milk. |
More information about cholesterol.
This article was endorsed by Elisenda Carballido - Dietitian nutritionist. Postgraduate in Phytotherapy and master in Nutrition and Metabolism.
