Foods to avoid high cholesterol - useful tips

Besides foods to avoid high cholesterol, statins are the drugs of choice to fight high cholesterol. Actually, National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) advises patients with high blood cholesterol levels to consider Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC).

What I want you to understand that if you start these TLC and select the right foods, you will perfectly avoid high cholesterol, and what is more will avoid side effects of lowering cholesterol drugs such as statins.

I’m not telling to stop using them if you are following a statin therapy. But I more emphasize the importance of some foods that help not to have high blood cholesterol levels. Preventing is much better than curing. But you must have a strong willing. Without it, you cannot succeed. If you prevent high cholesterol onset, you will prevent related problems .

Ok, let’s go deep into the guidelines of TLC diet of foods to avoid high cholesterol.

Keep in mind that cholesterol-rich foods are those made of animal products. This means that if you avoid taking excessive animal-derived products, you may keep your self safe from high cholesterol problems too.

In the following table you will have the list of animal-products that you should avoid taking in large amounts.

I may understand that it could be hard to you to quit an ice-cream intake or any dishes prepared with brain or kidney, but that would be necessary to keep your cholesterol under control.

Also I am not telling you to quit all kind of foods. You need all of them. But you should pay attention to what foods you are taking especially those foods to avoid high cholesterol.

As you may see from the above table, foods high in saturated fats and high in trans-fats should be avoided. Plus, be careful on the total calorie intake. Try not to exceed the amount of 16 g per day of saturated fat. This means you should limit their intake to 7 per cent of you total daily calories.

And if you limit your cholesterol-rich foods intake to only 200 mg per day, most probably you will have your LDL level reduced by 3 to 5 per cent. This may give you a hand if you already have high LDL cholesterol levels in your bloodstream.

So, if you start avoiding certain foods, limiting some others and consider taking some other foods in larger amounts, that would help you avoid future cholesterol problems.

Of course fruits and vegetables have low calorie, “no cholesterol”, and help reduce your ldl cholesterol levels if they are high and raise hdl levels if they are low. You may consider them as the major part of your lovely dishes.

Apart the dietetic and foods guidelines, you should consider other TLC strategies to fight high cholesterol.

Enjoy food. Stay firm. Keep healthy.

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