A high cholesterol diet alone does not usually give the desired effect, it only helps in combination with taking medication. However, without it, the treatment will not work.
When compiling 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. It is not necessary for you to abandon 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, is involved in the production of hormones. This substance is present in all cells of the body, including the brain. However, the situation is dangerous when the cholesterol level rises.
The transport of cholesterol molecules to the tissues is carried out with the help of proteins. There are several types:
- High-density lipoproteins (HDL). This is the so-called "good" cholesterol. They take excess fat, transport it to the liver, where it is processed into bile acids, which are then excreted through the intestines.
- Low-density lipoproteins (LDL). This is the "bad" cholesterol. They deliver their molecules to the tissues. With elevated levels of LDL, an excess of this substance is deposited, forming plaques, which leads to cardiovascular diseases.
- Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). They are considered the most dangerous type, as they transport fats such as triglycerides from the liver to the tissues.
If you need a low cholesterol diet, this means that a person has a high level of LDL and it is the "bad" cholesterol that needs to be lowered.
Diet Basics
A hypocholesterolemic diet with a high level of cholesterol is observed throughout life. This is not a completely cholesterol-free diet, as it is impossible to eliminate 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 fruits and vegetables a day. Your share may even increase. The consumption of starchy vegetables such as potatoes and pumpkin is allowed, but in limited quantities - no more than the physiologically acceptable norm. Their cholesterol load is low, but they do contain carbohydrates.
- The use of vegetable protein 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 of the gallbladder.
- Limit salt intake to 5 g per day.
- Exclusion of pickled, salted and smoked foods, sweet soft drinks.
- Sugar consumption at the level of 5 tsp. in a day. The amount is considered in total, with all drinks and dishes.
- Body weight control.
If necessary, you can spend days fasting from vegetables, apple or kefir. When you are overweight, start with a low-cholesterol diet with cottage cheese or fruits and vegetables, and then move on to a cholesterol-lowering nutrition plan.
Prohibited Products
The standard diet for lowering LDL cholesterol limits or completely eliminates high-fat foods. Those prohibited include:
- fatty meats and fish;
- offal;
- cream and fat milk;
- margarines
Only due to 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 shellfish, vegetable fats.
When compiling a diet, it is important to remember that in order to lower cholesterol, it is not necessary to completely exclude fats. Their ratio is determined individually, depending on the severity of the disease. Sometimes you have to reduce it by 20%, but normally the restrictions are not that important. Vegetable oils should also be used with caution, not more than normal, as they contribute to the accumulation of harmful substances in the body.
With high levels of sugar, reduce the amount of carbohydrates. But with 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 must follow the following rules:
- fat is cut from meat, skin is necessarily removed from poultry;
- vegetables are never cooked with meat, as they absorb fats;
- any recipe fits into this diet, reducing the fat content in it (for example, they take sour cream with a lower fat content);
- Rice dishes, mashed potatoes, pasta are cooked without butter.
You should also use non-stick cookware to avoid frying.
approved products
The hypocholesterolemic diet allows the following listed products:
- Lean meats and fish. The most useful is fish from cold seas, which contains omega-3 acids that affect fat metabolism.
- Vegetable oils that bind and remove 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 do 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 only talking about high-quality products, for example, you can eat tofu.
- Foods that contain dietary fiber are wheat and oat bran.
- Fruits, especially apples and citrus, as they help lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots.
Bread can be consumed, but only baked yesterday or in the form of toast. Tea is also included in the daily diet. But to reduce potential harm, it should be weak and contain a minimal amount of sugar.
dish recipes
The need to follow an anti-cholesterol diet does not mean that a person is forced to always eat the same dishes.
Using foods that lower cholesterol, you can create a healthy and tasty menu for proper nutrition.
citrus jam
Citrus fruits contain a large amount of pectin involved in digestion processes. It forms a highly viscous mass that helps remove cholesterol from the body before it enters the bloodstream. Citrus is good in any form. They can be eaten raw, as part of a fruit salad, and are also made into jam.
For its preparation take:
- orange - 1 piece;
- grapefruit - 1 piece;
- lemon - 1 piece;
- sugar - 0. 5 kg;
- water - 500 ml.
Cooking:
- Citrus fruits are washed, squeezed from the juice of fruits with pulp.
- Coarse white fibers are cut from the husk and cut into thin strips.
- Raw materials are placed in a saucepan.
- Add juice and water.
- Boil for 12-20 minutes.
- Add sugar and keep on low heat until the mixture reaches a viscous state. When it cools down, it will turn into jam.
White bean soup with herbs
Legumes (lentils, beans, peas) contain dietary fiber that is useful for the cardiovascular system. They are high in protein and can replace fatty meats in the diet. They are prepared in different ways. Mediterranean cuisine includes many varieties of dishes with vegetables. For example, you can cook white bean soup with herbs.
For this you will need:
- dry white beans - 1 tablespoon;
- bulb - 1 piece;
- carrots - 1 piece;
- 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 and then boiled for 2 hours. It turns out about 500-600 g of the finished product.
- Onions, carrots and celery are stewed for 8-10 minutes.
- Pour the beans into the pan and add the vegetables.
- Pour in the broth and water.
- Add salt and spices.
- Bring to a boil.
- Leave on low heat for another 15 minutes.
- Half of the bean-vegetable mass is taken out of the soup, whipped in a blender and returned to the remaining ingredients.
It turns out a very thick soup, in which different kinds of fresh herbs are added before serving.
carrot cutlets
Carrots are another product that can lower cholesterol, including due to the pectin it contains. From it you can cook meatballs.
Necessary:
- medium carrots - 3 pieces;
- eggs - 3 pieces;
- flour - about 5-6 tbsp. iwith a slide;
- salt to taste.
Cooking:
- Carrots are crushed on a coarse grater.
- Add the eggs, flour and salt.
- Everything is mixed.
- The chops are formed and cooked in a non-stick frying pan without oil or in the oven, turning them several times.
sweet pepper salad
Sweet pepper helps strengthen blood vessels and remove cholesterol. You can make a healthy salad with it.
For this you need:
- pepper - 2 pieces;
- red onion - 2 pieces;
- vegetables - to taste;
- vegetable oil - for dressing.
Cooking:
- Cut vegetables.
- Sprinkle with herbs.
- Filled with vegetable oil.
Baked aubergines with ham
These vegetables contain a lot of potassium and normalize 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. me;
- grated cheese - 70-80 g;
- vegetables - to taste.
Cooking:
- Eggplants wash, cut in half and spread on a baking sheet.
- 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 any familiar recipes, changing the ingredients in them to more useful ones.
diet for high cholesterol in women
With a normal level 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 in which such nutrition is indicated. For women, the norm is reflected in the following table:
| Get older | Total cholesterol, mmol/l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol/l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol/l |
| 35-40 years | Until 6. 27 | Not higher than 4. 45 | Not higher than 2, 12 |
| 40-45 years | Until 6. 53 | Not higher than 4, 51 | Not higher than 2, 28 |
| 45-50 years | Up to 6. 66 | Not higher than 4, 82 | Not higher than 2. 25 |
| 50-55 years | Until 7. 15 | Not higher than 5, 21 | Not higher than 2, 38 |
| 55-60 years | Up to 7. 77 | Not higher than 5, 44 | Not higher than 2. 35 |
| 60-65 years | Up to 7. 69 | Not higher than 5, 80 | Not higher 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, an anti-cholesterol diet is necessary. It has been followed for a long time. Depending on the state of health, it may be necessary for life.
A sample menu for 7 days for women looks like this:
| Weekday | diet |
| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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| Friday |
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| Saturday |
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| Sunday |
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This menu adjusts to reflect age and other chronic conditions. For example, women over the age of 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 joint inflammation. With a high sugar content, you should limit carbohydrates.
Characteristics of the anticholesterol diet in men.
The table of cholesterol norms for men is as follows:
| Get older | Total cholesterol, mmol/l | "Bad" cholesterol, mmol/l | "Useful" cholesterol, mmol/l |
| 35-40 years | Up to 6, 99 | Not higher than 4, 90 | Not higher than 1. 60 |
| 40-45 years | Up to 6. 94 | Not higher than 4, 82 | Not higher than 1. 73 |
| 45-50 years | Until 7. 15 | Not higher than 5, 23 | Not higher than 1. 66 |
| 50-55 years | Until 7. 17 | Not higher than 5, 10 | Not higher than 1. 63 |
| 55-60 years | Until 7. 15 | Not higher than 5, 26 | Not higher than 1. 84 |
| 60-65 years | Until 7. 15 | Not higher than 5, 44 | Not higher than 1. 91 |
A sample menu for a week for a man might look like this:
| Weekday | diet |
| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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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 features associated with the fact that physical activity gradually decreases, so less protein is needed than with intense training.
Age characteristics of nutrition.
With the increase in bad cholesterol, you need to monitor your diet, but it is important to do this taking into account age-related characteristics.
Up to 40 years
The metabolic rate is still high, but gradually begins to slow down. The main task of the diet is to speed up the metabolic process.
At this time, animal protein is still important, so it is necessary to maintain the consumption of lean meat at least 3-4 times a week.
At 40-50 years
At this time, hormonal changes in the body begin, the need for animal protein decreases.
It is recommended to reduce meat consumption to 2 times a week, include more fish dishes in the diet. Instead of coffee, it is better to drink herbal or ginger tea.
At 50-60 years
The speed of metabolic processes continues to slow down, which also reduces the role of cholesterol, which is no longer needed in such quantities.
At this time, whole milk should be completely abandoned, replacing it with sour-milk products.
after 60 years
Meat can not be eaten more than once a week, eggs - a maximum of 3 per week. The body can be deficient in iron and iodine, so it is recommended to consume more buckwheat, sea fish and other foods that contain these substances.
overweight diet
Dietary nutrition, starting from a certain age, is necessary for everyone, regardless of weight. But if a person is severely obese, a low-carb program is needed.
For this reason, sweets, pastries, some fruits (grapes and dates) are eliminated from the diet, leaving only the healthy carbohydrates contained in cereals, vegetables, etc.