Cut your cholesterol with wise choices at the pantry door
Thursday, January 29, 2004
By JOHN A. ZUKOWSKI, The Express-Times
link to article
What to eat and not eat for people with high (over 240) or borderline high (200 to 239) cholesterol levels:
Some foods to limit or avoid:
Beef, veal, lamb, pork
Lean cuts are OK in moderation. Buy lean cuts of these meats and trim all outside fat before cooking. Buy lean or extra-lean ground beef.
Even lean meat will have fat in it though. Broil rather than pan-fry meats. Use a rack to drain off the fat.
Most "processed meats" such as sausage, salami and hot dogs -- even those with reduced-fat labels -- are high in saturated fat. Also limit duck and goose, and internal organs from all animals.
Eat a moderate amount (no more than 5 ounces a day) of fish, turkey or skinless chicken. Prepare fish baked, broiled or grilled, not breaded or fried.
Eggs
Egg yolks contain a highly-concentrated form of dietary cholesterol. Some nutritionists suggest eating just one or two egg yolks per week. However, egg whites are cholesterol-free.
Cheese
Eat low-fat cheeses with fewer than 3 grams of fat per ounce or soy-substitute cheese. Other healthy options are low-fat cottage cheese, and part-skim milk and low fat cheeses.
Milk
Drink skim or low-fat milk (with no more than 1 percent fat) or soy milk.
Butter
Use margarine when possible.
The margarine should have no more than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon and have liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient. Choose soft margarines over stick forms and diet or light margarine over regular margarine.
Many margarines also have the level of trans-fatty acid listed on the label.
Many baked goods
Most store-baked goods such as crackers, donuts, cookies, muffins and cakes are made with hydrogenated vegetable oil, hydrogenated fat, saturated fats and egg yolks. They are also a major source of trans fatty acids, which raise cholesterol.
Stick with homemade or store-baked goods made with poly-or monounsaturated oils and egg whites.
Shrimp and crawfish
Generally fish is lower in cholesterol than other meats. And shellfish in moderation isn't often as bad as some people think. The big exceptions are shrimp and crawfish, which have a high concentration of cholesterol.
Fast food
As an experiment, Morgan Spurlock, 33, ate three McDonald's meals each day for a month and had a documentary crew film what happened. The resulting movie "Super Size Me" was a surprise hit at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this month.
Not only did he gain 30 pounds, but his cholesterol level jumped 40 percent.
Foods that help reduce high cholesterol:
These foods won't come close to lowering cholesterol the way medication will. However, some studies have shown they can help reduce cholesterol by moderate amounts if taken regularly.
Soy products
Find products that have 10 grams of soy protein per serving and eat two to three servings a day. Eating 20 grams of soy protein a day significantly lowers cholesterol levels, according to numerous studies reported to the American Heart Association.
Some companies are starting to say their soy products not only provide alternatives to meat or milk, but reduce cholesterol. These products range from soy chips to soy milk.
Unhydrogenated oils
Use canola, corn, safflower, olive and soy bean oil. Never use saturated oils such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil.
Cholesterol-reducing margarine
Some margarines such as Bencol and Take Control are sterol-enriched, which comes from natural soybean extract.
Spreading it on food and eating twice a day at different times of the day reduced cholesterol by 10 percent over a three-week period, according to one Australian study.
Cereals
Not only do cereals have no cholesterol, some cereal companies are touting that cereal can actually reduce cholesterol. That's because of the soluble fiber (oats, barley, psyllium) in them. The FDA has approved that several cereals can lower total blood cholesterol. Don't put full-fat milk in the cereal.
Grape juice
It's rich in flavonoids, which are antioxidants that prevent "bad" cholesterol from building up, according to a Rutgers University study. It also can reduce inflammation in the arteries.
Minute-Maid Premium Heart Wise Orange Juice
People with normal and borderline high cholesterol had their cholesterol reduced by drinking two, 8-ounce glasses per day of this juice which is enriched with plant sterols, one study revealed.
Turmeric
This extract of curry powder is a "natural antibiotic" that can reduce cholesterol, a University of California study stated.
Fruits, nuts and vegetables
They contain small amounts of sterols. And cholesterol isn't found in these foods. So you can eat as many of them as you want and you don't have to worry about cholesterol.
Reporter John A. Zukowski can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at jzukowski~express-times.com.
"Cut your cholesterol with wise choices at the pantry door"
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