A high cholesterol diet by itself usually does not give the desired effect, it helps only in combination with taking medication. However, without it, the treatment will not work.
When drawing up a menu, it is necessary to take into account not only the level of cholesterol in a person's blood, but also his gender and age. You do not need to leave such a diet, because in this case you will have to follow a therapeutic diet for the rest of your life.
What does high cholesterol mean?
Cholesterol (cholesterol) is an essential steroid in the human body. It plays an important role in lipid metabolism, is involved in the production of hormones. This substance is present in all cells of the body, even in the brain. However, the situation is dangerous when cholesterol levels rise.
The transport of cholesterol molecules to the tissues is carried out with the help of proteins. They are of several types:
- High density lipoproteins (HDL). This is the so-called "good" cholesterol. They absorb excess fat, transport it to the liver, where it is transformed into bile acids, which are then excreted through the intestines.
- Low density lipoproteins (LDL). This is the "bad" cholesterol. They deliver its molecules to the tissues. With high levels of LDL, an excess of this substance is deposited, forming plaques, which leads to cardiovascular disease.
- Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). They are considered the most dangerous because they transport fats such as triglycerides from the liver to the tissues.
If you need a low cholesterol diet, that means a person has high LDL and it's the "bad" cholesterol they need to lower.
Food basics
A low cholesterol diet with high cholesterol is observed throughout life. It 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 fruit and vegetables per day. Their share can even be increased. Starchy vegetables like potatoes and pumpkin are allowed to be eaten, but in limited quantities, no more than the physiologically acceptable norm. Their cholesterol load is low, but they contain carbohydrates.
- The use of vegetable proteins at the expense of legumes, if there are no kidney diseases.
- Fractional nutrition, in which the total amount of food is divided into 5-6 meals. This will help ensure drainage from the gallbladder.
- Limit salt intake to 5 g per day.
- Exclusion of pickled, salted and smoked foods, sweet soda.
- Sugar consumption at the level of 5 tbsp. in one day. The amount is considered total, including all drinks and dishes.
- Body weight control.
If necessary, you can spend fasting days on vegetables, apples or kefir. If you are overweight, start with a cholesterol-lowering diet of cottage cheese or fruits and vegetables, then move on to a cholesterol-lowering nutrition plan.
Prohibited products
The standard LDL-reduction diet limits or completely eliminates high-fat foods. Prohibitions include:
- fatty meats and fish;
- waste;
- fat cream and milk;
- margarine.
Only because of this you can reduce cholesterol levels by 10-15%. Sometimes it is not even necessary to follow a diet. It is enough to refuse the listed products, to include in the menu every day more vegetables and fruits, fish and seafood, vegetable fats.
When developing a diet, it is important to remember that in order to reduce cholesterol, it is not necessary to completely exclude fats. Their proportion is determined individually, depending on the severity of the disease. Sometimes it needs to be reduced by 20%, but usually the restrictions are not so great. Vegetable oils should also be used with caution, no more than normal, as they contribute to the accumulation of harmful substances in the body.
With high sugar levels, reduce the amount of carbohydrates. But with normal body weight and blood sugar, you can slightly increase the proportion of complex carbohydrates to provide energy to the body.
To reduce the fat and cholesterol content in the daily menu, you must follow the following rules:
- fat is cut from meat, the skin is necessarily removed from poultry;
- vegetables are never cooked with meat, as they absorb fat;
- any recipe is suitable for this diet, reducing its fat content (for example, they take low-fat sour cream);
- rice dishes, mashed potatoes, pasta are cooked without butter.
You should also use non-stick cookware to prevent frying.
Approved products
The cholesterol-lowering diet allows 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 eliminate cholesterol (this is not only 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 should eat them in small amounts.
- Cereals - buckwheat, rice, oatmeal.
- Eggs - no more than 2-4 per week, depending on the state of health.
- Soy products. They are very useful, but we are talking only about high-quality products, for example, you can eat tofu.
- Foods containing dietary fiber are wheat and oat bran.
- Fruits, especially apples and citrus fruits, as they help lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots.
Bread can be eaten, but only yesterday's baking or in the form of toast. Tea is also part of the daily diet. But to reduce potential harm, it should be low and contain minimal sugar.
Recipes of dishes
The need to follow a cholesterol-lowering diet does not mean that a person has to eat the same foods all the time.
By using foods that lower cholesterol, you can create a healthy and tasty menu for good nutrition.
citrus marmalade
Citrus fruits contain a lot of pectin involved in digestion processes. It forms a very viscous mass that helps remove cholesterol from the body before it enters the bloodstream. Citrus is good in all its forms. 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 pc. ;
- lemon - 1 pc. ;
- sugar - 0. 5 kg;
- water - 500 ml.
Cooking:
- Citrus fruits are washed, extracted from fruit juice with pulp.
- Coarse white fibers are cut from the skin and cut into thin strips.
- Raw materials are placed in a pan.
- Add juice and water.
- Boil for 12-20 minutes.
- Add the sugar and maintain over low heat until the mixture reaches a viscous state. Once cooled, it will turn into marmalade.
white bean soup with herbs
Legumes - lentils, beans, peas - contain dietary fiber useful for the cardiovascular system. They are rich in protein and can replace fatty meats in the diet. They are prepared in different ways. Mediterranean cuisine includes many varieties of dishes based on legumes. For example, you can cook white bean soup with herbs.
For this you will need:
- dry white beans - 1 tbsp;
- bulb - 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 then boiled for 2 hours. It turns out about 500-600 g of the finished product.
- Onions, carrots and celery are cooked for 8-10 minutes.
- Pour the beans into the pan and add the vegetables.
- Pour in broth and water.
- Add salt and spices.
- Bring to a boil.
- Leave on low heat for another 15 minutes.
- Half the bean and vegetable mass is removed from the soup, whipped in a blender, returned to the remaining ingredients.
It turns out a very thick soup, in which various types of fresh herbs are added before serving.
carrot cutlets
Carrots are another product that can lower cholesterol, especially because of the pectin they contain. From there you can cook meatballs.
Necessary:
- medium carrots - 3 pieces;
- eggs - 3 pieces;
- flour - about 5-6 tbsp. L. with a slide;
- salt - to taste.
Cooking:
- Carrots are crushed on a coarse grater.
- Add eggs, flour and salt.
- Everything is mixed up.
- The cutlets are formed and cooked in a non-stick pan without oil or in the oven, turning them several times.
bell pepper salad
Sweet pepper helps strengthen blood vessels and eliminate cholesterol. You can make a healthy salad out of it.
For this you need:
- pepper - 2 pieces;
- red onion - 2 pieces;
- greens - to taste;
- vegetable oil - for dressing.
Cooking:
- To cut the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with herbs.
- Filled with vegetable oil.
Baked eggplant with ham
These vegetables contain a lot of potassium and normalize the metabolism. You can cook baked eggplant with low-fat ham.
This will require:
- eggplant - 2 pieces;
- ham - 100 g;
- low-fat sour cream - 3 tbsp. L. ;
- 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 sour cream.
- Spread the mixture over the eggplants and bake for 15 minutes.
You can experiment with all familiar recipes, changing the ingredients in them for more useful recipes.
diet for high cholesterol in women
With a normal level of cholesterol in the blood, there is no need to follow a cholesterol-lowering diet, it can even be harmful. Therefore, it is necessary to know the indicators at which such nutrition is indicated. For women, the norm is reflected in the following table:
| Age | Total cholesterol, mmol/l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol/l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol/l |
| 35-40 years old | Up to 6. 27 | No greater than 4. 45 | Not more than 2, 12 |
| 40-45 years old | Up to 6. 53 | No greater than 4. 51 | No greater than 2. 28 |
| 45-50 years old | Up to 6. 66 | No greater than 4. 82 | Not greater than 2. 25 |
| 50-55 years old | Until 7: 15 a. m. | Not more than 5, 21 | No greater than 2. 38 |
| 55-60 years old | Up to 7. 77 | No greater than 5. 44 | Not greater than 2. 35 |
| 60-65 years old | Up to 7. 69 | Not more than 5. 80 | No greater than 2. 38 |
It is necessary to pass the appropriate blood tests and act on the results. If the "bad" cholesterol is higher than normal, a cholesterol-lowering diet is necessary. She has been followed for a long time. Depending on the state of health, this may be necessary for a lifetime.
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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| Thusday |
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| Friday |
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| Saturday |
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| Sunday |
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This menu is adjusted according to age and other chronic conditions. For example, women over 60 should limit meat in favor of fish and dairy products. This is especially true for those who suffer from arthritis and osteoarthritis, as meat contains substances that promote joint inflammation. With a high sugar content, you need to limit carbohydrates.
Features of the cholesterol-lowering diet for men
The table of cholesterol standards for men is as follows:
| Age | Total cholesterol, mmol/l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol/l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol/l |
| 35-40 years old | Up to 6. 99 | Not greater than 4. 90 | Not greater than 1. 60 |
| 40-45 years old | Up to 6. 94 | No greater than 4. 82 | Not greater than 1. 73 |
| 45-50 years old | Until 7: 15 a. m. | Not greater than 5. 23 | Not greater than 1. 66 |
| 50-55 years old | Up to 7. 17 | No more than 5. 10 | Not greater than 1. 63 |
| 55-60 years old | Until 7: 15 a. m. | No greater than 5. 26 | Not greater than 1. 84 |
| 60-65 years old | Until 7: 15 a. m. | No greater than 5. 44 | Not greater than 1. 91 |
A sample menu for a week 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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| Thusday |
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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.
Nutrition Age Features
With an increase in bad cholesterol, you need to monitor your diet, but it is important to do this taking into account age-related features.
Up to 40 years old
The metabolic rate is still high, but gradually begins to decline. The main task of the diet is to speed up the metabolic process.
Right now, animal protein is still important, so you should maintain lean meat consumption 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, to include more fish dishes in the diet. Instead of coffee, it is better to drink herbal or ginger tea.
At 50-60 years old
The rhythm of metabolic processes continues to slow down, which also reduces the role of cholesterol, which is no longer needed in such quantities.
At present, whole milk must be completely abandoned and replaced by sour-milk products.
After 60 years
Meat can be eaten no more than once a week, eggs - a maximum of 3 per week. The body can lack iron and iodine, so it is recommended to consume more buckwheat, sea fish and other foods containing these substances.
diet for overweight
Dietary nutrition, from a certain age, is necessary for everyone, regardless of weight. But if a person is severely obese, a low carb program is needed.
Therefore, sweets, pastries, some fruits (raisins and dates) are eliminated from the diet, leaving only healthy carbohydrates contained in cereals, vegetables, etc.