High cholesterol levels in the blood indicate a greater risk of getting heart disease. Diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure and a genetic predisposition to heart disease also compounds the danger of high cholesterol. It is thus of paramount importance to control and maintain healthy levels of cholesterol in the blood to minimize the danger of coronary complications. If you already have high cholesterol levels, getting it down to a healthy level is very critical. In most cases, the reason for high cholesterol levels in the body is because of the diet. To lower your cholesterol level, the first step is to go on a diet for high cholesterol.
What should you remove from your diet to reduce high cholesterol level? There are diet programs that encourage the increased consumption of foods high in protein that promote a healthy body weight. The Atkins and Optimal diets are among the most popular of these programs to hit the market and have been proven to be effective for weight loss but at a price. Because the emphasis is on reducing carbohydrates and encouraging the intake of proteins, which are typically high in cholesterol, it is the heart and liver that suffers. It is practically inevitable that high cholesterol levels will result.
Such diet programs are not a recent phenomenon, however. Traditional breakfasts such as bacon and eggs and cereal with milk may bring back fond memories, but these are all the ingredients of diets for high cholesterol. The bacon is of course redolent in animal fat, and egg yolk is definitely a high cholesterol food. The milk is not so bad, especially if it is low-fat but cholesterol is still present. Even the cereal may not be so great because many commercially successful brands are high in saturated fats and sugar.
Everyday food that you regularly eat may not bear scrutiny, either. Take your basic hamburger, fries and milkshake combination. Then there is that steak with gravy, mashed potatoes and butter-fried vegetables dinner. Whatever meal you consider, most present a danger of high cholesterol. Some believe that cooking such food in olive or soybean oil makes it okay, but the natural cholesterol in animal products cannot be cooked off. These are high in saturated fats which is one of the causes of high cholesterol. Other examples of these products include liver, prawns and other shellfish, sardines, heavy cream and veal. That means goodbye to surf and turf meals as well.
There are two relatively painless ways to ensure that the meals you eat are not driving you at top speed to an early grave. One is to practice moderation. The other is to stop eating out.
Foods high in cholesterol do not have to be poison if taken in reasonable amounts and combined with moderate amounts of food high in starch and fiber. Take note that even “healthy” food have to be taken in moderation, because excessive amounts of these foods may lead to other health problems as well.
Eating out is okay once in a while, but making the fast food or take-out down the block your permanent kitchen is a big no-no. Restaurant and take-out food are high in everything, mostly fats, sugar and sodium. This is because they need to make their food look and smell good; and unfortunately, these are the things that make them taste wonderful. Thus, healthy food principles go out the window.
Nobody wants to be a kill-joy but those are the facts. Diets for high cholesterol have been part of man’s traditional diet for many years and it is only recently that people are starting to believe, albeit reluctantly, the negative effects of this diet style. The time to act is now; there is no time to lose, maybe literally.
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