Is there a list of foods to eat to avoid high cholesterol?

Answer 1

Okay - you could be asking two different questions. If you're asking for a list of foods that are naturally low in cholesterol, choose plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lowfat or nonfat dairy products, and moderate amounts of lean meats, skinless poultry, and fish.

If you're asking for a list of foods that will lower your cholesterol levels, look for foods with soluble fiber. Foods that are high in soluble fiber are: oats, oatmeal, barley, beans, peas, barley, strawberries, apple pulp, rice bran and citrus fruits. You can also add walnuts and almonds to your diet to help lower your cholesterol but remember that they have a lot of calories in a small amount so be sure to set limits on how many you have. There is also some evidence that plant sterols and stanols are also able to assist with lowering cholesterol. You can find them in most grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and in foods that have had them added to them (cereals, orange juice, and margarines like Benecol).

Answer 2

No plant food has cholesterol. All animal foods have it. No plant food contains cholesterol. Cholesterol is a natural substance in animals, we make our own cholesterol and it helps blood vessels stay supported and strong, but too much ( from animal sources only) = heart disease, heart attacks, strokes etc. SOme foods are said to reduce your cholesterol. Oatmeal Papaya Bran- wheat bran, wholewheat stuff. Onions, garlic ginger,turmeric, rosemary, parsley. walnuts, olives, flax ( and all the oils that come from these plant foods). ALL nuts oils and so on. Oil and fat in your body should never ever ever be from animal sources, for the cholesterol reason alone. Animal fat is insoluble, it sticks, and clogs and always thickens up your artieries. COconut oil is one of the few plant food exception of being healthy. ( not fish, despite the rumours).

Answer 3

Dietary cholesterol makes little to no difference in cholesterol level in your body. You can eat foods that are high in fiber that will reduce your cholesterol though. Your doctor will disagree with what I have just said, but most nutritionists would agree with it, or at least the one with the PhD that told me would agree.

Answer 4

The foods listed above for being low in actual cholesterol are also what's recommended for having low "serum cholesterol" (the cholesterol that actually ends up in your bloodstream, which is what matters). Some people accumulate more of this than others genetically, but lifestyle can play a big part too.

The basic idea is to avoid fats because they're turned into cholesterol in the body (esp. saturated fats or "trans" fats) as much as is necessary to achieve the HDL and LDL cholesterol numbers you want. (Some fat is necessary for the body, but it would be hard to get *too few* fats in our society!) The cholesterol present in foods btw, doesn't usually add as much cholesterol to the blood as fatty foods do.

Less-fatty foods would be, as above:
...fruits, vegetables, lowfat or nonfat dairy products, plus fish, skinless poultry and lean cuts of meat

Higher-fat, saturated-fat, or trans-fat foods would be cheese, butter, full-fat milk (or cream, sour cream, etc.), marbled or visible-fat meats, most "ground" meats, chicken with skin on, donuts/cakes/pastries, any fried foods, etc.
Many processed foods have a lot of trans-fats in them too, and most foods purchased in restaurants are loaded with fats.

There are also some foods being discovered now that may reduce cholesterol in the blood by themselves, even though they may contain fat (often the good kind of fat like mono-saturated ones, and some of the poly-saturated ones). These often naturally contain plant "sterols and stanols" too. Some of these are many grains (esp. whole grains, oatmeal, etc.), vegetables, fruits, legumes (peas, beans), nuts, and seeds.

Check out these sites for lots more on foods to avoid for lowering cholesterol, etc.:
http://tinyurl.com/287odq


HTH,

Diane B.