Low Cholesterol Diet Information

the good news is you dont have to reduce red meat if you dont want to. One alternative is bison meat which is found in walmart, safeway, fred meyers etc. Bf has/had the same problem as you and since changing to bison instead of cow the levels have stabilized as well as a medicine he was put on. We were also told walking would help good cholesterol go up.

one or two drinks per day can significantly increase HDL levels. More than one or two drinks per day, one hastens to add, can lead to substantial health problems including heart failure

Monounsaturated fats such as canola oil, avocado oil, or olive oil and in the fats found in peanut butter can increase HDL cholesterol levels without increasing the total cholesterol.

Soluble fibers are found in oats, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and result in both a reduction in LDL cholesterol and an increase HDL cholesterol. For best results, at least two servings a day should be used.

Cranberry juice has been shown to increase HDL levels. Fish and other foods containing omega-3 fatty acids can also increase HDL levels.

A diet in which fat has all but been eliminated can result in a deficit in the essential fatty acids - certain fatty acids that are essential to life, but which the body cannot manufacture itself. Furthermore, ultra-low-fat diets have been reported to result in a significant reduction in HDL cholesterol in some individuals. Try to eliminate saturated fats and trans fats from the diet, and substitute monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats instead. (That is, eliminate animal and dairy fat, and substitute unprocessed vegetable fats.

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/cholesterol/a/raiseHDL.htm

Manganese deficiency has also been linked in at least one study on rats low cholesterol levels (hypocholesterolemia). If this is also true for humans, presumably then having adequate manganese intake may aid in establishing normal cholesterol levels. Good sources of manganese include pineapple, pecans, and spinach

http://www.ctds.info/good_cholesterol.html

Although there's no documentation to support the claim, consuming 1 - 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar each day may lower total cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Additionally, cranberry juice has long been claimed as one of the easiest and most natural ways to raise HDL (good) cholesterol.

http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_raise-good-cholester...

Grape seed oil may raise HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol). Just 1 ounce daily is all that is required. Grape seed oil, which can be found at your local health food store, is great for all forms of cooking, including salad dressings and mayonnaise.

http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_raise-good-cholester...

My cholesterol has been running around 212-220 for 4-5 years but this summer it jumped to 235. My good cholesterol was in the low 60's which is cardioprotective. My doctor was concerned and she said why don't you try Red Yeast Rice. I had never heard of it, but since I get some supplements from a mail order company called Vitacost I decided to research it. There were about 25 customer responses re; it and 22 of the 25 said it was good, the other 3 said it made no difference. I like using Vitacost because the shipping is only $5 no matter how large your order. Also the price of the capsules was like $15 for 240 of the 600 mg caps. My doc had said take 1 in the morning and 1 at bedtime. I decided to take 1 in the morning , but 2 at bedtime, since that's when your body makes cholesterol. AFter almost 3 months the doc did a level and it had dropped from 235 to 191 and she is really pleased. I just ordered 2 more bottles since I consider this will be a lifetime need. Just something for you to consider, hope it helps you like it did me. C. P

I read all the responses certain someone would have mentioned the connection between thyroid diseases and cholesterol problems. No one did sooo....

Thyroid diseases often mess with cholesterol in your system. Are you seeing an endocrinologist for your Graves disease? If you are please talk with him/her about this. If you are not please find one! This is definitely one of those specialty areas that a GP or Family doctor is just not enough.

Good luck!

Hello Again C Marie-

A few years ago after a poor cholesterol test I went on a "health kick". I lost about pounds, ate a lot of oatmeal and other high fiber cereals. I also added Plant Sterol capsules, (found them at Trader Joes).

Cholesterol is from foods, but also from your body, I believe your liver produces cholesterol during it's processes. So even if you eat well, you could have bad levels due to your genes.

I learned during my research that high fiber, omega 3 and pland sterols helps grab the cholesterol and washes it away.

I hope this helps- Good Luck.

R. Magby

You don't say what you've done to lower your saturated fat intake via going to yolk-free egg substitutes, non-fat milk and cheeses, low-fat salad dressings, low-fat mayo, eliminating butter and using olive oil or butter-flavor cooking sprays instead, or increased amounts of fiber in your diet. What helped for me was not giving up red meat, but decreasing its frequency and reducing my portion size. Eating beans is good, and eating fish (esp high in omega 3s) can help too. Also potatoes aren't as good for you fiber-wise if you aren't eating them with skins on as 100% whole wheat bread. Some breads these days also have flax seeds in them (high in omega 3s which helps HDL).

My cholesterol was over 400 and I dropped it 15% through a low-fat, high-soluble fiber diet -- but that was still not enough and my doctor finally told me that some people have hereditary high cholesterol where their body makes it, even if they don't eat much. So he finally put me on a Statin drug and within a month, my cholesterol was well under 180 with good ratios.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health-specialist/ome...

Just today, I received an article on how to increase good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol from a web site called Everyday Health. They have a section entitled Heart Center that is loaded with information as well as tools to improve your heart health. I highly recommend going to this site.

this particular article is entitled Upping Intake of Omega-3s.

Hello,

I just sent this article to someone yesterday. Perhaps it will give you the basics to help make decisions. IT talks about foods that do exactly what you are concerned about, lowering the bad and increasing the good cholesterols.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-y...

I would really encourage you to eat 2 fish meals a week and 1-2 vegetarian (can do either full on veg or quiche/other egg type; this article has a link to how egg yolks have not been shown to affect cholesterol levels in a negative way).

Good for you for getting rid of the processed foods and sugar! Sorry I don't have a particular cookbook recommendation for you, although when I used to subscribe to Real Simple I got a lot of great ideas. I think if you look for a cookbook that is based on Asian diets (but has easy recipes) you may have some luck. Asian diets seem to eat a LOT of vegetables (with a lot of variety) with a little meat and medium amount of rice. I have a good book called "Healing with Whole Foods" that has some recipes, but it's mostly about the foods and the qualities they bring to your health. Best wishes.

You might want to take a look at a book called The 8 Week Cholesterol Cure by Robert Kowalski. He has hereditary cholesterol problems like yours. He researched and developed his program, and lowered his own cholesterol dramatically. It involves taking high doses of niacin(a B vitamin)and and adding oat bran to a healthy, low fat diet. If you are currently feeling deprived, you can probably resume eating whole grains, pasta, and some sugar while on this diet. Good luck.

Hi--I understand your fears. Try looking up SparkPeople.com and seeing all that is available to you there. There is a special group within it who are working on lowering cholesterol. It is a healthy, well-rounded approach, gives you recipes, exercises, feed-back and whatever you need. Take good quality fish oil to help raise the good cholesterol and make your arteries more supple and lower your heart attack and stroke risk. I went to a specialist to learn that. Don't give up complex carbs like beans and brown rice and whole wheat altogether. They are tons better for you than red meat. If you make the diet too hard to stick to you won't be able to do it long term.

I wish you the best!

only have a minute, but just wanted to note that what your meat eats affects how healthy it is for you (fattened on corn w/ additives and extra fat does not make for lean healthy meat). You might consider grass fed beef (available at farmers markets) or buffalo for occasional red meat. Also, how your chickens, eggs, even farmed fish & shellfish were fed is a part of what it is and what you are ingesting. Animals don't eat the way nature intended in industrial farming these days, so some foods are less healthy that they used to be.

Also, there's been a big push on healthy oils/fish oil. some research indicates its not just about bad oil vs omega 3 or omega 6 but the balance between them that matters for health. This is also true with sodium and potassium- there is a balance that your body needs. Be sure to research this before you decide to act on it tho-if you supplement wrong that could be bad (beyond the dietary changes you've made w/ dr supervision)

here is a website on grass fed meat: www.eatwild.com

one last thing, if you like some spice, there are a lot of cultures around the world that eat small amounts of meat and get protien thru grains, beans, pastas, other.
The Moosewood restaurant has some good vegiterean cookbooks.

Good news is you don't have to give up flavorful foods. I too have a family history of heart disease and it's not just from the food eaten. My dad had a triple by-pass at 44, which I am almost there now. 2 Years ago I began cooking with only Olive oil, canola oil and real butter, (the butter is the one I use the least) - my cholestrol dropped 25 points in a year. To raise the good cholestrol and lower the bad our Dr. recommended taking fish oil tablets (omega 3), in a high dose for my husband because he has other health problems and cannot take the regular choltestrol meds...This seems to be working. I don't limit my diet too much, I try to eat more fish/chicken/pork but LOVE beef and I love marbly fatty steaks, so we don't eat those too often, but we do eat them. It has worked great for us.

You have pretty complexed medical conditions & need to e b asking a doctor about htese things. I understand why you're concerned & your diet seems great! My naturopath is absolutely wonderful & specializes in gastrointestinal & autoimmune diseases. Please go see her...Dr. Ilana Gurvich ###-###-#### Good luck with everything, it seems like you are treating yourself really well & ythat your children will have you around for a very long time.

Hi,

The biggest dietary factor to watch out for in reducing your cholesterol is saturated fat. Eating high cholesterol foods is much less likely to increase your blood cholesterol than eating foods high in saturated fats, which will most assuredly raise your blood cholesterol levels (especially the bad one). This may seem a bit backwards but it is so true and I have the lab work to prove it. My first suggestion is to just start out by finding leaner versions of the meats you already buy. Then slowly move on to leaner variations as you can. Make small manageable steps. I found that eating more vegetarian meals (not exclusively, just more) really helped me but that is not for everyone.

Good Luck,
S.

A few things that helped me lower my cholesterol were:
1)adding ground flax seed to a few things. I put it on my cereal or oatmeal or stirred into yogurt. It has a nutty flavor.
2) substituting beans for the meat a couple of time a week. You still get the protein without the cholesterol. Bean salads, rice and beans, pasta and beans etc.
There are a few books out there. I used the Everything Low Cholesterol book. I would check them out at the library to see if it's something you could use, or find a used book store so you aren't paying a lot for a book you might not use. Good luck.

Don't forget fish. This is a great place for fish, especially salmon. And you might want to put a few carbs back in your diet. Whole grain pastas and breads can actually help lower choloesterol in the right amounts.

Just a thought. Good luck.

I have bad cholesterol too. I was told by the doctor that regular exercise can help. But with your other health conditions, I would definitely talk to a doctor first!

I have some very good and valuable information on hypoglycemia and high cholesterol and heart disease. All natural and no adverse side effects whatsoever - total health.

go to http://nutritionproducts.myshaklee.com

I was a hypoglycemic for 40 years and have finally found relief and don't have it anymore.

I also had plaque in my arteries and don't have that anymore and took care of it without being invasive to my heart or arteries. It is so easy to do - if people only knew.

I would love to work with you and give you the information I have and do a nutritional evaluation (free of charge) and I can give you good insight.

I noticed someone put in about Red Rice Yeast. PG moms, nursing moms and children should not have it. It is also depletes CoQ10 in the body and does other things. Statin drugs cause liver problems - believe me I know because it has happened to a lot of people including me.

If you would like to go the natural way and the most healthy way and have great health - please contact me.

N.
Wellness Coach

Do you eat fish? Salmon..tuna..cod..clams..shrimp..etc. Have you tried any of the meatless vegetarian choices in the freezer section? I love Boca Burgers with onion and some barbeque sauce. Also beans...split peas..you can make chili or soup. Red meat is not good for you since you have high cholesterol. I hardly ever eat it.