high cholesterol diet

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crazebeck
crazebeck Posts: 70 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My cholesterol was higher than it should be so the doctor recommended Mediterranean diet for me to see if we can lower it. I have looked online and it just doesn't seem like something I can commit to. Anyone else on a diet for cholesterol and have recipes or sites they can share?

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  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    I lowered my cholesterol by 80 points just by restricting calories and exercising 4-6 times a week. For a lot of mornings I also eat oatmeal, so that could have something to do with it.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    What part can you not commit to? Maybe you can eat a variety of the things on the diet that are known to help lower cholesterol and supplement with some of the things you can't seem to give up as long as they aren't known to cause high cholesterol. A diet high in fiber is supposed to help as well as good fats such as Omega 3's, fats found in avocados and olives, etc. I'd talk to your doctor about it too. Surely he/she would rather you do something you know you can stick to versus prescribing something you may not be able to do.
  • tfpdunn
    tfpdunn Posts: 68 Member
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    I made minor Mediterranean diet tweaks to lower my cholesterol - subbed EVOO for butter/other oils, added garlic whenever possible, increased fish intake, increased tomato product intake, and if drinking I try to drink red wine.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    what part can't you commit too? it's really not a specific diet per sei...the "Mediterranean Diet" is simply a way of eating that emphasizes fruits and veg and lot of lean proteins and healthy fats and whole grains...it's very nutritious. It's pretty much the way I eat and don't find anything particularly difficult about it...lots of delicious and nutritious foods. The greeks eat like gods...
  • crazebeck
    crazebeck Posts: 70 Member
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    The quantity of veggies and sweets is unlikey and only red meat once or twice a month! I love my steak and hamburger. I try to sub out turkey meat when I can but some recipes you have to have beef for!

    I have food allergies to most fruits and veggies so I have to be careful how much I intake or else it flares up my sinus issues very bad. I am on allergy shots for my allergies however the food allergies, there is nothing they can do for me.

    I have been using evoo instead of other oils this week and trying to cut down on the sweets (this is hard for me)! I have been one of those people that lost weight solely from calorie counting, not minding macros or what makes up the calories.

    My cholesterol has gotten better since working out and eating less but it is still higher than they want :(

    I can easily handle the glass of red wine per day though :drinker:
  • crazebeck
    crazebeck Posts: 70 Member
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    what part can't you commit too? it's really not a specific diet per sei...the "Mediterranean Diet" is simply a way of eating that emphasizes fruits and veg and lot of lean proteins and healthy fats and whole grains...it's very nutritious. It's pretty much the way I eat and don't find anything particularly difficult about it...lots of delicious and nutritious foods. The greeks eat like gods...

    That was what I was thinking however when researching, looks like there are lots of veggies and fruits. I am confused by my doctors commentary on my bloodwork too because she says eat high protein, low carb but then says to look into Mediterranean Diet, which from what I can see - does not look very low carb to me.

    Plan of attack - increase evoo and cut out other oils (can do!) , find more veggies and fruits that I can eat and eat them more often (hope to start incorporating these more and more starting this week), lastly, eat more whole grains instead of white bread, pasta, and rices (this may be a bit harder for this southern girl)

    Hopefully the combo of this and working out (plus the red wine) will help decrease my cholesterol so I dont have to limit my red meat as much...
  • Steph_in_Mississippi
    Steph_in_Mississippi Posts: 70 Member
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    I have high cholesterol. They put me on meds then doubled them. Then finally changed to crestor. That's when I decided to eat better.

    I try to eat alot of fiber. I eat red meat once a week. I grill or broil most all food. Apples and oranges are great fiber sources. A large orange has 5 grams. Of course, dried beans are a great source.

    I, too, changed to olive oil.

    Somethings you can look into is the fiber one products. I know they're processed but they taste good. Also, quaker make a high fiber cinnamon roll oatmeal. It has 10 grams of fiber. Also, progresso makes high fiber soups.

    I bought chia seeds for fiber and protein but they just don't interest me too much.

    My diary is open if you would like to add me. We can help each other. Take care!

    Oh and since I started my diet, my medicine has been cut in half. Yay!
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
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    My DH brought his cholesterol from sky high(his cardiologist considered putting him on medication) to normal(super-preferred life insurance rate) by just lifestyle changes.

    1. The number you need to watch is SATURATED FAT. That what contributes to your bad cholesterol. Limit that to no more than 15 gram per day. That is the only thing you need to concern yourself with. Everything else, like "cholesterol" on the package is pretty much meaningless for this purpose.

    Some foods, if the ratio of bad fat to good fat are more than 1:7 are still ok (you need to keep your good cholesterol up).

    2. Intense cardio.
    At least 3 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time. That helps convert your very bad cholesterol to just bad cholesterol. And that helps.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    What does your cholesterol breakdown look like? That's just as important, if not more important, than the overall number. (Disclaimer - all of the below do work together; changing one thing isn't going to be a magic fix and what helps one is probably going to help others. Plus, decreasing weight and increasing activity - which you're already doing - are going to help all factors. If you smoke, then quit that, too.)

    If your HDL cholesterol is high (>60), then that's good. Very good. You want this number to be high. You can help increase it in part by eating mono- and poly-unsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts/nut butters, avocado, and fatty fish like salmon.

    If your triglycerides are high (>150), then that's very bad. You can help decrease it in part by reducing carbohydrates, especially processed/refined ones and sugars.

    If your LDL cholesterol is high (>100), that's bad, but not as bad as the triglycerides. You can help decrease it in part by doing everything above, plus *probably* by reducing saturated fat intake, but there's some controversy lately about how saturated fat intake impacts your cardiovascular health and cholesterol levels.

    It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can probably get there without doing a complete 180 on the way you eat. Just go choice by choice and try to make the best ones you can. Go for whole grains when possible, sub out "bad" fats for "healthy" fats, try to stick to lean/non red meat protein sources wherever you can.
  • gabbygirl78
    gabbygirl78 Posts: 936 Member
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    I eat oatmeal or cheerios every morning. Cut my fats and eat fish alot.
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I lowered my cholesterol when I lowered my % body fat. For whatever reason, changing my diet didn't help. Losing a few pounds did.

    Now I'm trying to get my blood pressure under control.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Exercise and eat more plant and fish oils than oils from land animals and eat high fiber. And exercise.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    what part can't you commit too? it's really not a specific diet per sei...the "Mediterranean Diet" is simply a way of eating that emphasizes fruits and veg and lot of lean proteins and healthy fats and whole grains...it's very nutritious. It's pretty much the way I eat and don't find anything particularly difficult about it...lots of delicious and nutritious foods. The greeks eat like gods...

    This ^^
  • samsgirl25
    samsgirl25 Posts: 2
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    Hi Crazebeck,

    What were your cholesterol reading results? Did Dr tell you LDL and HDL levels, total cholesterol or ratio?

    Bad cholesterol (LDL) is raised when we eat too much saturated fat, so start by decreasing the amount of saturated fat in your diet.

    Saturated fat is found in things like full-fat dairy, processed meats, visible fat on some cuts of meat (like steak), coconut oil and palm oil. Palm oil in Australia does not need to be listed on the label but it's found in most baked goods, desserts, chocolates and chips.

    High intensity cardio helps decrease LDL, as does smoking cessation. Soluble fibre is great for lowering cholesterol as it prevents the bad cholesterol from being absorbed by the body so increase your intake of soluble fibre (oats, apples, prunes etc).

    Hope that helps.
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    Exercise is good. If the doc hasn't preached it yet, it's probably because people are less likely to actually do it than eat healthier or take a pill. Taking pills is easy, just not on the pocketbook.

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