Best diet to help to reduce high cholesterol?

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  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    so it went down quite a bit.....
    all that I changed in my diet was to eliminate all deli meats, lunch meats, red meats entirely

    And in the time your cholesterol went down, did you lose any weight or become more active?

    I started eliminating the red meats/lunch meats & sodas back around march of this year and started walking/jogging everyday by mid july, lost about 38 pounds so far so I'm sure the weight loss had helped a lot as well

    How do you determine whether the weight loss, increased activity, or dietary change had the biggest effect?
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    Your body makes cholesterol... or vegans would all die. Up your fiber, take out all added sugars.

    They say a diet with bacon in it can actually *lower* your cholesterol...
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    so it went down quite a bit.....
    all that I changed in my diet was to eliminate all deli meats, lunch meats, red meats entirely

    And in the time your cholesterol went down, did you lose any weight or become more active?

    I started eliminating the red meats/lunch meats & sodas back around march of this year and started walking/jogging everyday by mid july, lost about 38 pounds so far so I'm sure the weight loss had helped a lot as well

    How do you determine whether the weight loss, increased activity, or dietary change had the biggest effect?

    I think other diet changes were probably responsible. Excess sugar can lower HDL and raise triglycerides.
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
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    Your body makes cholesterol... or vegans would all die. Up your fiber, take out all added sugars.

    They say a diet with bacon in it can actually *lower* your cholesterol...

    Good to know, bacon is my favorite food group... :love: :love: :love:
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
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    No meat, No Dairy.

    Didn't read. Cholesterol is in animal products. Get rid of animal products and your cholesterol should decrease.

    Please don't listen to this. Some people still haven't received the memo that there is no link to the consumption of dietary cholesterol and blood serum cholesterol. There's lots of information out there people just apparently aren't receiving it.

    Exercise and a diet with as little processed and fast foods, some healthy fats (including animal products), lean meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds should help. Lots of water, and be sure to get your fiber. Avoid the foods that upset your body and cause issues for you, these are different for different people. Inflammation in the body is the enemy not dietary cholesterol.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,247 Member
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    Meat, dairy as 10% or less of your total diet = reduction in cholesterol levels.

    Nope.

    As was already stated (and it seems you missed), dietary cholesterol has little to no impact on blood serum levels.

    So many people don't read current scientific information it seems.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,626 Member
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    Mine is a little high. My GP recommended getting more water soluble grains, such as oatmeal.
  • bahls24
    bahls24 Posts: 32 Member
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    OATMEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
  • RonW956
    RonW956 Posts: 105 Member
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    No meat, No Dairy.

    Didn't read. Cholesterol is in animal products. Get rid of animal products and your cholesterol should decrease.

    Please don't listen to this. Some people still haven't received the memo that there is no link to the consumption of dietary cholesterol and blood serum cholesterol. There's lots of information out there people just apparently aren't receiving it.

    Exercise and a diet with as little processed and fast foods, some healthy fats (including animal products), lean meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds should help. Lots of water, and be sure to get your fiber. Avoid the foods that upset your body and cause issues for you, these are different for different people. Inflammation in the body is the enemy not dietary cholesterol.

    +1 Mine dropped 30 points within a year from exercise & change of diet that includes drinking only water, nothing else, staying away from processed foods and eating more fiber such as oatmeal & vegetables.
  • beaches222
    beaches222 Posts: 437 Member
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    bump
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
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    Besides getting more active, what types of food should you try to eat to help lower cholesterol?

    What are some big things (and maybe not so obvious) to avoid?

    I just got my first cholesterol results back, and they were high (250), so I want to try to reduce the numbers for my next checkup, so I can avoid having to go on meds!

    Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you!!

    This will give you some food for thought:

    http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/cholesterol/
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
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    Besides getting more active, what types of food should you try to eat to help lower cholesterol?

    What are some big things (and maybe not so obvious) to avoid?

    I just got my first cholesterol results back, and they were high (250), so I want to try to reduce the numbers for my next checkup, so I can avoid having to go on meds!

    Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you!!

    Lots of great suggestions.

    I have (had) very high cholesterol. Exercise will lower it. Cholesterol in food comes from animal products (meat, eggs and dairy). There is no cholesterol in plants.

    I cut out sugary junk food and 99 percent of dairy, especially cheese. I'm not much of a meat eater -- I did eat fish 2-3x a year, which I've stopped doing. I also stopped eating eggs.

    I added some good fats like olive oil and avocado because they lower the bad cholesterol.

    Breakfast: I usually eat steel cut oats. Oatmeal lowers cholesterol.

    Lunch and dinner: I eat lentils for protein (1 cup has the protein of 3 eggs), with stir fried vegetables and brown rice. I also eat a lot of steamed leafy greens like kale and collards. Food high in fiber like leafy greens and beans will lower cholesterol.

    Snacks: fruit
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Meat, dairy as 10% or less of your total diet = reduction in cholesterol levels.
    No meat, No Dairy.

    Didn't read. Cholesterol is in animal products. Get rid of animal products and your cholesterol should decrease.

    so much fail........

    Exercise, weight loss and ..........http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

    I'm not a huge oatmeal fan (except in winter when it comes into the comfort food category) pretty much every day my breakfast includes a sort of home made yogurt parfait what contains 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/4 cup all bran buds and 100 to 125ml (approx 1/2 cup) yogurt (Greek yogurt works well) and in the evening I drink a teaspoon of a psyllium based product dissolved in water.

    This, combined with exercise, was at my doctors suggestion. Cholesterol levels don't always respond.......if your dr suggests meds use them.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    No meat, No Dairy.

    Didn't read. Cholesterol is in animal products. Get rid of animal products and your cholesterol should decrease.
    This is exactly what you SHOULDN'T be listening to. Wow.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    No meat, No Dairy.

    Didn't read. Cholesterol is in animal products. Get rid of animal products and your cholesterol should decrease.

    come on ..I eat meat and dairy all the time and my cholesterol is considered 'excellent' at last physical...

    OP - I think if you make better choices then you can lower your cholesterol. Don't eat a lot of greasy, or fired foods all the time (they are OK in moderation)..just make better choices and you can still eat meat and dairy.

    what does your diet currently consist of? Identify what is making your cholesterol higher and then cut those foods down, or out..
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Besides getting more active, what types of food should you try to eat to help lower cholesterol?

    What are some big things (and maybe not so obvious) to avoid?

    I just got my first cholesterol results back, and they were high (250), so I want to try to reduce the numbers for my next checkup, so I can avoid having to go on meds!

    Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you!!

    Lots of great suggestions.

    I have (had) very high cholesterol. Exercise will lower it. Cholesterol in food comes from animal products (meat, eggs and dairy). There is no cholesterol in plants.

    I cut out sugary junk food and 99 percent of dairy, especially cheese. I'm not much of a meat eater -- I did eat fish 2-3x a year, which I've stopped doing. I also stopped eating eggs.

    I added some good fats like olive oil and avocado because they lower the bad cholesterol.

    Breakfast: I usually eat steel cut oats. Oatmeal lowers cholesterol.

    Lunch and dinner: I eat lentils for protein (1 cup has the protein of 3 eggs), with stir fried vegetables and brown rice. I also eat a lot of steamed leafy greens like kale and collards. Food high in fiber like leafy greens and beans will lower cholesterol.

    Snacks: fruit

    i eat four eggs a day and cholesterol is fine..

    eggs are considered a "good" source of fat...
  • DianneP6772
    DianneP6772 Posts: 272 Member
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    My entire life- my cholesterol was excellent - around 140. Then a few years ago i had stopped eating oatmeal and it went up to
    199. Started back on Oatmeal (changed nothing else) and it went down to 160. Started MFP in May 2013, started losing weight, sometimes had oatmeal twice a day - and now 29 lbs lighter and just had it checked again - 137 !

    OATMEAL and lose weight - just my thoughts - it worked for me.
  • Celuwen
    Celuwen Posts: 80 Member
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    Cutting back on processed meat might help, but probably not. Eat well, hit your macros, lose weight if you need to and exercise regularly. I think exercising regularly and eating well 80% of the time will do all you can lifestyle-wise.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    And these are my numbers if anyone has advice or suggestions!


    CHOLESTEROL 252
    HDL 67
    CHOLESTEROL, NON-HDL 185
    TRIGLYCERIDE 111
    LDL 163

    Looks like you need to just bring up HDL and lower Trigs and some LDL. Easiest way to get better HDL/Trig ratio is to cut down on your sugar and refined carbs.
  • marsellient
    marsellient Posts: 591 Member
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    Exercise and weight loss! I agree with the oatmeal, too. Eat fish. Check out plant sterols and fish oil supplements. These things are working for me.

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