By itself a high cholesterol diet usually does not give the desired effect, it only helps with taking medication. However, without this the treatment will not work.
When compiling the menu it is necessary to take into account not only the level of cholesterol in a person's blood, but also his sex 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 a steroid that is essential for the human body. It plays an important role in lipid metabolism, participating in the production of hormones. This substance is present in every cell of the body, even in the brain. However, the situation is dangerous when cholesterol levels rise.
Cholesterol molecules are transported to tissues with the help of proteins. They are of several types:
- High-density lipoproteins (HDL). This is the so-called "good" cholesterol. They take in excess fat, transfer it to the liver, where it is processed into bile acids, which are then excreted in the intestines.
- Low density lipoproteins (LDL). This is "bad" cholesterol. They deliver its molecules to tissues. With elevated levels of LDL, excess deposition of this substance occurs, forming plaques, which leads to cardiovascular disease.
- Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). They are considered the most dangerous type because they transfer fats such as triglycerides from the liver to the tissues.
If you need a low cholesterol diet, it means that a person has high levels of LDL and it is the "bad" cholesterol that he needs to reduce.
Basics of diet
A hypocholesterolemic diet with high cholesterol levels is observed throughout life. This is not a completely cholesterol diet as it is impossible to remove all cholesterol-containing foods from the diet. Recent studies have shown that if you completely rule it out, the situation can lead to neurological and endocrine disorders.
Basic principles of dietary nutrition:
- Eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables daily. Their share may even increase. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes and pumpkin are allowed to be consumed, but in limited quantities, no more than the physiologically acceptable norm. Their cholesterol load is low but it contains carbohydrates.
- Use vegetable protein at the expense of legumes, unless there are kidney diseases.
- Fractional meals in which the total amount of food is divided into 5-6 meals. This will facilitate gallbladder drainage.
- Limit salt intake to 5 g per day.
- Exclude pickles, salty and smoked foods, sweet soda.
- Consumption of sugar at the level of 5 tbsp. Per day. The amount is provided in full, with all drinks and dishes.
- Body weight control.
If necessary, you can spend fasting days with vegetables, apples or kefir. When you are overweight, start with a low-cholesterol diet of cottage cheese or fruits and vegetables, and then move on to an anti-cholesterol diet plan.
Prohibited products
A standard LDL-reducing diet limits or eliminates fatty foods altogether. Prohibitions include:
- Fatty meats and fish;
- By-products;
- Cream and skim milk;
- Margarine.
Only because of this you can reduce cholesterol levels by 10-15%. Sometimes dieting is not even necessary. It is enough to give up the listed products, add more vegetables and fruits, fish and seafood, vegetable fats to the menu daily.
When compiling a diet it is important to remember that it is not necessary to completely eliminate fats to lower cholesterol. Their proportion is determined individually, according to the severity of the disease. Sometimes it should be reduced by 20%, but usually the restrictions are not so significant. Vegetable oils should also be used with caution, not more than the norm, as they help to accumulate harmful substances in the body.
With high levels of sugar, reduce the amount of carbohydrates. But under normal body weight and glucose levels, you can slightly increase the proportion of complex carbohydrates to provide the body with energy.
To reduce the content of fats and cholesterol in the daily menu, you should follow the following rules:
- The fat is torn from the meat, the skin is necessarily removed from the bird;
- Vegetables are never cooked with meat because they absorb fats;
- Any recipe adapted to this diet, reduces the fat content in it (for example, take sour cream with low fat content);
- Rice dishes, mashed potatoes, pasta are made without butter.
You should also use non-stick cookware to prevent burns.
Approved products
The hypocholesterolemic diet provides the following products:
- Lean meat and fish. The most beneficial are cold sea fish, which contain omega-3 acids that affect fat metabolism.
- Vegetable oils that bind and remove cholesterol (this is 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, because they are rich in vitamins, folic acid, magnesium and arginine. However, they do contain a lot of calories, so you should consume them in small amounts.
- Cereals - buckwheat, rice, oatmeal.
- Eggs - no more than 2-4 weeks, depending on health status.
- Soy products. They are very useful, but we are talking only about high quality goods, for example, you can enjoy tofu.
- Foods containing dietary fiber are wheat and oat bran.
- Fruits, especially apples and citrus fruits, because they help lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots.
Bread can be consumed, but only in the form of yesterday's bread or toast. Tea is also included in the daily ration. But to reduce potential damage it must be lean and with a minimal amount of sugar.
Dish recipes
The need to follow an anti-cholesterol diet does not mean that a person is constantly forced to eat the same foods.
By 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, which is involved in digestive 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 it.
To prepare it, take:
- Orange - 1 pc. ;
- Grapefruit - 1 tsp. ;
- Lemon - 1 tsp. ;
- Sugar - 0, 5 kg;
- Water - 500 ml.
Cuisine:
- Citrus fruits are washed, drained from the pulp of the fruit juice.
- Coarse white fibers are cut from the skin and pressed into thin strips.
- The raw material is placed in a pot.
- Add juice and water.
- Boil for 12-20 minutes.
- Add sugar and simmer over low heat until the mass becomes viscous. When cooled it will turn into marmalade.
White bean soup with herbs
Legumes - lentils, beans, peas - contain dietary fiber that is beneficial for the cardiovascular system. They are rich in protein and can replace fatty meats in the diet. They are made in different ways. Mediterranean cuisine includes a variety of dishes with legumes. For example, you can cook white bean soup with herbs.
For this you will need:
- Dry white beans - 1 tbsp. K. ;
- Lamp - 1 pc. ;
- Carrots - 1 pc. ;
- Chopped stalk of celery - 1 pc. ;
- Weak chicken broth - 0, 5 l;
- Water - 0, 5 l;
- Salt and spices - to taste.
Cuisine:
- Beans are boiled overnight and boiled for 2 hours. It turns out about 500-600 g of the finished product.
- Stew onions, carrots and celery for 8-10 minutes.
- Pour the beans into the pan and add the vegetables.
- Pour the broth and water.
- Add salt and spices.
- Bring to a boil.
- Leave on low heat for another 15 minutes.
- Remove half of the bean-vegetable mass from the soup, whisk in a blender, returning to the remaining ingredients.
It turns out a very thick soup, in which different kinds of fresh herbs are added before delivery.
Carrot cutlet
Carrots are another product that can lower cholesterol, including because of the pectin it contains. From it you can cook meat balls.
Required:
- Medium carrots - 3 pieces;
- Eggs - 3 pcs. ;
- Flour - about 5-6 tbsp. K. L. With slide;
- Salt - to taste.
Cuisine:
- The carrots are crushed on a large grater.
- Add eggs, flour and salt.
- Everything is mixed.
- The cutlets are formed and boiled suddenly in a baking pan, or in the oven, turning several times.
Sweet pepper salad
Sweet pepper helps strengthen blood vessels and remove cholesterol. From it you can prepare a healthy salad.
For this you need:
- Pepper - 2 pcs. ;
- Red onion - 2 pcs. ;
- Herbs - to taste;
- Vegetable oil - for slimming.
Cuisine:
- Cut the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with herbs.
- Filled with vegetable oil.
Baked eggplant with ham
These vegetables contain a lot of potassium and normalize metabolism. You can cook eggplant baked with low-fat ham.
This will require:
- Eggplant - 2 pcs. ;
- Ham - 100 g;
- Low-fat sour cream - 3 tbsp. K. L. ;
- Grated cheese - 70-80 g;
- Herbs - to taste.
Cuisine:
- Eggplants are washed, cut in half, and placed on a baking sheet.
- The ham is crushed, mixed with chopped herbs.
- Add sour cream.
- Transfer the obtained mass to the eggplant and bake for 15 minutes.
You can experiment with any familiar recipe, changing the ingredients in them to something more useful.
Diet for high cholesterol in women
With normal levels of cholesterol in the blood, there is no need for an anti-cholesterol diet, it can even be harmful. Therefore, it is necessary to know the indicators that indicate such a meal. 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 | 6. up to 27 | Not more than 4. 45 | Not more than 2. 12 |
| 40-45 years old | 6. up to 53 | Not more than 4. 51 | Not more than 2. 28 |
| 45-50 years old | 6. up to 66 | Not more than 4. 82 | Not more than 2. 25 |
| 50-55 years old | 7. up to 15 | Not more than 5. 21 | Not more than 2. 38 |
| 55-60 years old | 7. up to 77 | Not more than 5. 44 | Not more than 2. 35 |
| 60-65 years old | 7. up to 69 | Not more than 5. 80 | Not more than 2. 38 |
It is necessary to pass the appropriate blood tests and act accordingly. If "bad" cholesterol is above normal, an anti-cholesterol diet is essential. It has been followed for a long time. Depending on your health condition, it may be necessary for a lifetime.
The sample menu for women for 7 days looks like this:
| week day | Diet |
| Monday |
|
| Tuesday |
|
| Wednesday |
|
| Thursday |
|
| Friday |
|
| Saturday |
|
| Sunday |
|
This menu is tailored to reflect age and other chronic diseases. 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, since meat contains substances that promote inflammation of the joints. With high sugar, you need to limit carbohydrates.
Peculiarities of anti-cholesterol diet in men
The table of cholesterol norms for men is as follows:
| Age | Total Cholesterol, mmol / L | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol / l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol / l |
| 35-40 years old | 6. up to 99 | Not more than 4. 90 | Not more than 1. 60 |
| 40-45 years old | Up to 94 | Not more than 4. 82 | Not more than 1. 73 |
| 45-50 years old | 7. up to 15 | Not more than 5. 23 | Not more than 1. 66 |
| 50-55 years old | 7. up to 17 | Not more than 5. 10 | Not more than 1. 63 |
| 55-60 years old | 7. up to 15 | Not more than 5. 26 | Not more than 1. 84 |
| 60-65 years old | 7. up to 15 | Not more than 5. 44 | Not more than 1. 91 |
A sample of a men's weekly menu might look like this:
| week day | Diet |
| Monday |
|
| Tuesday |
|
| Wednesday |
|
| Thursday |
|
| Friday |
|
| Saturday |
|
| Sunday |
|
Men also have age-related dietary characteristics related to the fact that physical activity gradually decreases, so less protein is needed than during intense exercise.
Age characteristics of nutrition
With increased bad cholesterol, you need to control your diet, but it is important to do so with age-related characteristics in mind.
Up to 40 years
The metabolic rate is still high, but gradually begins to decline. The main task of the diet is to speed up the metabolic process.
At this time animal protein is still important, so you should maintain a consumption of lean meat at least 3-4 times a week.
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 2 times a week, include more fish in the diet. Instead of coffee it is better to drink herbal or ginger tea.
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 these quantities.
At this time whole milk should be completely abandoned, replacing it with dairy products.
60 years later
Meat can be eaten no more than once a week, eggs - a maximum of 3 weeks. The body may be deficient in iron and iodine, so it is recommended to eat more buckwheat, sea fish and other foods containing these substances.
Diet for excess weight
Dietary foods, starting at a certain age, are essential 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 excluded from the diet and only healthy carbohydrates are contained in grains, vegetables and so on. Sh.