A high cholesterol diet alone usually does not give the desired effect, it only helps in combination with the use of medication. However, without it, the treatment will not work.
When compiling a menu, it is necessary to take into account not only a person's blood cholesterol level, but also his gender and age. You do not need to leave this diet, as in that case you will have to adhere to a therapeutic diet for the rest of your life.
What does high cholesterol mean?
Cholesterol (cholesterol) is an essential steroid for the human body. It plays an important role in lipid metabolism, is involved in the production of hormones. This substance is present in every cell in the body, even the brain. However, the situation is dangerous when the cholesterol level rises.
The transport of cholesterol molecules to the tissues is carried out with the help of proteins. They are of different types:
- High density lipoproteins (HDL). This is called "good" cholesterol. They take excess fat, transport it to the liver, where it is broken down into bile acids, which are then excreted through the intestines.
- Low density lipoproteins (LDL). This is "bad" cholesterol. They deliver their molecules to the tissues. With high levels of LDL, the excess of this substance is deposited, forming plaques, which leads to cardiovascular diseases.
- Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). They are considered the most dangerous type as they transport fats such as triglycerides from the liver to the tissues.
If you need a low cholesterol diet, it means that a person has a high level of LDL and it is the "bad" cholesterol he needs to reduce.
diet basics
A high cholesterol hypocholesterol diet is observed throughout life. This is not a completely cholesterol-free diet, as it is impossible to remove all cholesterol-containing foods from the diet. Recent studies have shown that if you completely exclude it, the situation will lead to neurological and endocrine disorders.
Basic principles of dietary nutrition:
- Eat at least 400 g of fruits and vegetables daily. Your participation can even be increased. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes and pumpkins can be eaten, but in limited amounts, no more than the physiologically acceptable norm. Their cholesterol load is low, but they do contain carbohydrates.
- The use of vegetable protein to the detriment of legumes, if there are no kidney diseases.
- Fractional nutrition, where the total amount of food is divided into 5-6 meals. This will help ensure the gallbladder drains.
- Limit your salt intake to 5 g per day.
- Exclusion of canned, salted and smoked foods, sweet soft drinks.
- Sugar consumption at the level of 5 tsp. In one day. The value is considered in the total, with all drinks and dishes.
- Body weight control.
If necessary, you can spend fasting days from vegetables, apples or kefir. When overweight, start with a low-cholesterol diet with cottage cheese or fruits and vegetables, then move on to an anti-cholesterol nutrition plan.
prohibited products
The standard LDL-lowering diet limits or completely eliminates high-fat foods. Prohibited include:
- fatty meats and fish;
- offal;
- cream and whole milk;
- margarines.
Just because of this, you can lower your cholesterol levels by 10-15%. Sometimes it is not even necessary to follow a diet. Just refuse the listed products, add more vegetables and fruits, fish and seafood, vegetable fats to the menu every day.
When compiling a diet, it is important to remember that in order to lower cholesterol, it is not necessary to completely exclude fats. Their proportion is determined individually, depending on the severity of the disease. Sometimes it has to be reduced by 20%, but usually the restrictions are not that significant. Vegetable oils should also be used with caution, no more than usual, as they contribute to the accumulation of harmful substances in the body.
With high sugar levels, reduce the amount of carbs. But with normal body weight and glucose levels, you can slightly increase the proportion of complex carbohydrates to provide the body with energy.
To reduce the fat and cholesterol content in the daily menu, you must adhere to the following rules:
- the fat is cut from the meat, the skin is necessarily removed from the birds;
- vegetables are never cooked with meat, as they absorb fats;
- any recipe is adapted to this diet, reducing the fat content (for example, they take lower-fat sour cream);
- rice dishes, mashed potatoes, pasta are cooked without butter.
You should also use non-stick pans to avoid frying.
approved products
The hypocholesterolemic diet allows for the following listed products:
- Lean meats and fish. The most useful is cold sea fish, which contains omega-3 acids that affect fat metabolism.
- Vegetable oils that bind and remove cholesterol (not just olive oil, but also soybean or rapeseed oil).
- Dairy products including cottage cheese, sour cream, low-fat cheese.
- Nuts, especially walnuts and almonds, as they are rich in vitamins, folic acid, magnesium and arginine. However, they contain a lot of calories, so you need to eat them in small amounts.
- Cereals - buckwheat, rice, oats.
- Eggs - no more than 2-4 per week, depending on the state of health.
- Soy products. They are very useful, but we are only talking about high quality products, for example, you can eat tofu.
- Foods that contain dietary fiber are wheat and oat bran.
- Fruits, especially apples and citrus fruits, as they help to lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots.
Bread can be eaten, but only in yesterday's baking or in the form of toast. Tea is also included in the daily diet. But to reduce possible damage, it must be weak and with a minimum amount of sugar.
dish recipes
The need to follow an anti-cholesterol diet does not mean that a person is obliged to always eat the same dishes.
Using foods that lower cholesterol, you can create a healthy and tasty menu for proper nutrition.
citrus marmalade
Citrus fruits contain a lot of pectin involved in digestion processes. It forms a highly viscous mass that helps remove cholesterol from the body before it enters the bloodstream. Citrus fruits are good in any form. They can be eaten raw, as part of a fruit salad, and marmalade is also made from them.
For its preparation take:
- orange - 1 piece;
- grapefruit - 1 piece;
- lemon - 1 pc. ;
- sugar - 0. 5 kg;
- water - 500ml.
Cooking:
- Citrus fruits are washed, squeezed out of fruit juice with pulp.
- Thick white fibers are cut from the husk and cut into thin strips.
- Raw materials are placed in a pan.
- Add the juice and water.
- Boil for 12-20 minutes.
- Add the sugar and keep on low heat until the mixture reaches a viscous state. When it cools, it will turn into marmalade.
White bean soup with herbs
Legumes - lentils, beans, peas - contain dietary fiber that is helpful for the cardiovascular system. They are high in protein and can replace fatty meats in the diet. They are prepared in different ways. Mediterranean cuisine includes many varieties of vegetable dishes. For example, you can cook white bean soup with herbs.
For that you will need:
- dry white beans - 1 tbsp;
- lamp - 1 piece;
- carrots - 1 pc. ;
- chopped celery stalk - 1 pc. ;
- weak chicken broth - 0. 5 l;
- water - 0. 5 l;
- salt and spices - to taste.
Cooking:
- The beans are soaked overnight and then boiled for 2 hours. It turns out about 500-600 g of the finished product.
- Onions, carrots and celery are boiled for 8-10 minutes.
- Pour the beans into the pan and add the vegetables.
- Pour in the broth and water.
- Add salt and spices.
- Bring to a boil.
- Leave on low heat for another 15 minutes.
- Half of the bean mass is taken from the soup, blended in a blender, and returned to the remaining ingredients.
It turns out to be a very thick soup, in which different types of fresh herbs are added before serving.
carrot cutlets
Carrot is another product that can lower cholesterol, including due to the pectin contained in it. From it you can cook meatballs.
Required:
- medium carrots - 3 pieces;
- eggs - 3 pcs. ;
- flour - about 5-6 tbsp. I. with slide;
- salt - to taste.
Cooking:
- Carrots are crushed on a coarse grater.
- Add the eggs, flour and salt.
- Everything is mixed.
- The chops are formed and cooked in a non-stick skillet without oil or in the oven, turning several times.
chili salad
Sweet pepper helps to strengthen blood vessels and remove cholesterol. You can make a healthy salad with it.
For that you need:
- pepper - 2 pcs. ;
- red onion - 2 pcs. ;
- greens - to taste;
- vegetable oil - for dressing.
Cooking:
- Cut the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with herbs.
- Full of vegetable oil.
Roasted Eggplant with Ham
These vegetables contain a lot of potassium and normalize metabolism. You can cook baked eggplant with low-fat ham.
This will require:
- eggplant - 2 pcs. ;
- ham - 100 g;
- low-fat sour cream - 3 tbsp. I. ;
- grated cheese - 70-80 g;
- greens - to taste.
Cooking:
- Eggplants are washed, cut in half, spread on a baking sheet.
- The ham is crushed, mixed with chopped herbs.
- Add the cream.
- Spread the mixture over the eggplant and bake for 15 minutes.
You can try any familiar recipe, changing the ingredients in them to more useful ones.
diet for high cholesterol in women
With a normal blood cholesterol level, there is no need for an anti-cholesterol diet, it can even be harmful. Therefore, it is necessary to know the indicators in which this nutrition is indicated. For women, the norm is reflected in the following table:
| Was | Total cholesterol, mmol/l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol/l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol/l |
| 35-40 years | up to 6, 27 | Not more than 4. 45 | Not more than 2. 12 |
| 40-45 years | up to 6. 53 | Not more than 4. 51 | Not more than 2. 28 |
| 45-50 years | up to 6. 66 | Not more than 4. 82 | Not more than 2. 25 |
| 50-55 years | up to 7, 15 | Not more than 5. 21 | Not more than 2. 38 |
| 55-60 years | up to 7. 77 | Not more than 5. 44 | Not more than 2. 35 |
| 60-65 years | up to 7. 69 | Not more than 5. 80 | Not more than 2. 38 |
It is necessary to pass the appropriate blood tests and act on the results. If "bad" cholesterol is above normal, an anti-cholesterol diet is necessary. It's been followed for a long time. Depending on the state of health, it may be necessary for life.
A sample menu for 7 days for women looks like this:
| Day of the week | diet |
| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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| Friday |
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| Saturday |
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| Sunday |
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This menu is adjusted to reflect age and other chronic conditions. For example, women over 60 should limit meat in favor of fish and dairy. This is especially true for arthritis and osteoarthritis sufferers, as meat contains substances that promote joint inflammation. With high sugar content, you need to limit carbs.
Features of the anticholesterol diet in men
The table of cholesterol norms for men is as follows:
| Was | Total cholesterol, mmol/l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol/l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol/l |
| 35-40 years | up to 6. 99 | Not more than 4. 90 | Not more than 1. 60 |
| 40-45 years | up to 6. 94 | Not more than 4. 82 | Not more than 1. 73 |
| 45-50 years | up to 7, 15 | Not more than 5. 23 | Not more than 1. 66 |
| 50-55 years | up to 7, 17 | Not more than 5. 10 | Not more than 1. 63 |
| 55-60 years | up to 7, 15 | Not more than 5. 26 | Not more than 1. 84 |
| 60-65 years | up to 7, 15 | Not more than 5. 44 | Not more than 1. 91 |
A one-week sample menu for a man might look like this:
| Day of the week | diet |
| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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| Friday |
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| Saturday |
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| Sunday |
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Men also have age-related dietary characteristics associated with the fact that physical activity gradually decreases, so less protein is needed than with intense training.
Features of the age of nutrition
With bad cholesterol on the rise, you need to monitor your diet, but it's important to do so by taking age-related traits into account.
up to 40 years
The metabolic rate is still high, but it gradually starts to slow down. The main task of the diet is to speed up the metabolic process.
At this point, animal protein is still important, so you need to keep eating lean meat at least 3-4 times a week.
At 40-50 years old
At this time, hormonal changes begin in the body, the need for animal protein decreases.
It is recommended to reduce meat consumption to 2 times a week, include more fish dishes in the diet. Instead of coffee, it is better to drink herbal tea or ginger.
At 50-60 years old
The rate of metabolic processes continues to slow down, which also reduces the role of cholesterol, which is no longer needed in such quantities.
At this time, whole milk should be abandoned completely, replacing it with dairy products.
after 60 years
Meat can be eaten no more than once a week, eggs - a maximum of 3 a week. The body can be deficient in iron and iodine, so it is recommended to consume more buckwheat, marine fish and other foods that contain these substances.
diet for overweight
Dietary nutrition, starting at a certain age, is necessary for everyone, regardless of weight. But if a person has severe obesity, a low-carb program is needed.
Therefore, sweets, cakes, some fruits (grapes and dates) are eliminated from the diet, leaving only healthy carbohydrates contained in cereals, vegetables, etc.