|
|
 |
About It
Facts About Blood Cholesterol
Table of Contents |
Why Blood Cholesterol Matters |
The Blood Cholesterol--Heart Disease Connection |
Other Risk Factors For Heart Disease |
Who Can Benefit From Lowering Blood Cholesterol? |
Cholesterol--In Your Blood, In Your Diet |
LDL- and HDL-Cholesterol: The Bad and The Good |
Things That Affect Blood Cholesterol |
Have Your Blood Cholesterol Checked |
Guidelines For Heart-Healthy Living |
 Making The Guidelines Work: Eat The Heart-Healthy Way |
Eat Out The Heart-Healthy Way |
Make Physical Activity Part Of Your Routine |
Lose Weight Sensibly |
Cholesterol Levels In Children? |
How High Is a Child's "High" Blood Cholesterol? |
In Case You Were Wondering... |
Should You Know Your Cholesterol Ratio? |
What are Triglycerides? |
Will Lowering My Blood Cholesterol Help Me Live Longer? |
Is It Safe To Eat In A Heart-Healthy Way? |
How Much Will Your Cholesterol Levels Change? |
How To Find Out More
Look at how your family eats now and begin to plan. You don't have to cut out
all high saturated fat, high cholesterol foods. Just substitute one or two low
saturated fat or low cholesterol foods each day, and soon you will reach your
goal of heart-healthy eating for you and your family. By making the changes
slowly, you are more likely to stick with your new eating plan.
Choose heart-healthy foods from different food groups--meat, poultry, fish, and
shellfish; dairy foods; eggs; fruits and vegetables; breads, cereals, pasta,
rice and other grains, and dry peas and beans; fats and oils; and sweets and
snacks. Choose the number and size of portions to help you reach and stay at
your desirable weight. Eating a variety of foods each day will help your whole
family get the nutrients you need. Use these tips to choose foods low in
saturated fat and cholesterol:
Meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish
Buying tips:
- Choose lean cuts of meat. Choose fish and skinless
poultry more often; they are generally lower in saturated fat than meat. Eat moderate
portions--no more than about 6 ounces a day (a 3-ounce portion is about the size of a
deck of cards).
- Look for meats labeled "lean" or "extra lean."
- Limit organ meats like liver, sweetbreads, and kidneys. Organ meats are high in
cholesterol, even though they are fairly low in fat.
- Limit high fat processed meats like bacon, bologna, salami, hot dogs, and sausage.
- Remember that some chicken and turkey hot dogs are lower in saturated fat and total
fat than pork and beef hot dogs. There are also "lean" beef hot dogs that are low in fat
and saturated fat. Usually, processed poultry products have more fat and cholesterol than
fresh poultry. To be sure, check the nutrition label on deli products such as hot dogs and
luncheon meats to find those that are lowest in fat and saturated fat.
- Try fresh ground turkey or chicken made from white meat, like the breast.
- Limit use of goose and duck. They are higher in saturated fat, even with the skin removed.
- Choose shellfish occasionally. Shellfish has little saturated fat in general, but its cholesterol content varies--some (like squid, shrimp, and oysters) are fairly high while others (like scallops, mussels, and clams) are low.
- Buy canned fish packed in water, not oil.
Preparation tips:
- Trim fat from meat and remove skin from poultry before eating.
- Bake, broil, microwave, poach, or roast instead of frying. When you do fry, use a
nonstick pan and nonstick cooking spray or a small amount of vegetable oil to reduce
the fat.
- When you roast, place the meat on a rack so the fat can drip away.
- Brown ground meat and drain well before adding other ingredients.
- Use fat free ingredients like fruit juice, wine, or defatted broth to baste meats and poultry.
Top of page
Dairy foods
Buying tips:
- Drink skim or 1 percent milk rather than 2 percent and whole milk.
- When looking for hard cheeses, go for versions that are "fat free," "reduced fat,"
"low fat," "light," or "part-skim." These have less fat per ounce than the regular
versions.
- When shopping for soft cheeses, choose low fat (1 percent) or nonfat cottage cheese, farmer cheese, pot cheese, or part-skim or "light" ricotta. These cheeses have less fat per ounce than the whole milk versions.
- Use low fat or nonfat yogurt; try it in recipes or as a topping.
- Try low fat or nonfat sour cream or cream cheese blends for spreads, toppings, or in
recipes.
Preparation tips:
- Try low fat cheese in casseroles, or try a sharp-flavored regular cheese and use less
than the recipe calls for. Save most of the cheese for the top.
- Use skim, 1 percent, or evaporated skim milk for creamed soups or white sauces.
Top of page
Eggs
Buying tips:
- Eggs are included in many processed foods and baked goods. Look at the nutrition
label to check the cholesterol content.
- Try egg substitutes.
Preparation tips:
- Egg whites have no cholesterol, so try substituting them for whole eggs in recipes;
two egg whites are equal to one whole egg. Or, use egg substitutes.
Fruits and vegetables
Buying tips:
- Buy fruits and vegetables often--fresh, frozen, or canned. They have no cholesterol
and most are low in saturated fat. Also, most fruits and vegetables, except avocados,
coconut, and olives, are low in total fat.
Preparation tips:
- Use fruits as a snack or dessert.
- Prepare vegetables as snacks, side dishes, and salads. Season with herbs, spices,
lemon juice, or fat free or low fat mayonnaise. Limit use of regular mayonnaise, salad
dressings, and cream, cheese, or other fatty sauces.
Top of page
Breads, cereals, pasta, rice and other grains, and dry peas and beans
Buying tips:
- Use whole-grain breads, rolls, and cereals often.
- Limit baked goods like these that are made with large amounts of fat, especially
saturated fat:
- Croissants
- Biscuits
- Doughnuts
- Butter rolls
- Muffins
- Coffee cake
- Danish pastry
Be aware that some baked goods contain palm, palm kernel, and coconut oils. These oils are
high in saturated fats, even though they are vegetable oils.
- Choose ready-to-eat cereals often. Most are low in saturated fat, except for granola,
muesli, or oat bran types made with coconut or coconut oil.
- Buy dry peas and beans often. They are low in saturated fat and total fat and high
in fiber.
Preparation tips:
- Try pasta or rice in soups, or with low fat sauces as main dishes or casseroles.
- Stretch meat dishes with pasta or vegetables for hearty meals. You can use less meat
this way and still have the flavor.
- Bake your own muffins and quick breads using unsaturated vegetable oils; substitute
two egg whites for each egg yolk, or use egg substitutes. Experiment with substituting
applesauce for oil or cut back the amount of oil in the recipe. For each two cups of flour,
you only need 1/4 cup of vegetable oil.
- Use dry peas and beans as the main ingredient in casseroles, soups, or other one-dish
meals. They are excellent sources of protein and fiber.
Top of page
Fats and oils
Buying tips:
- Choose liquid vegetable oils high in unsaturated fat for cooking and in salad
dressings. Examples are canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, sesame, soybean,
and sunflower oils.
- Buy light or nonfat mayonnaise instead of the regular kinds that are high in fat.
Preparation tips:
- In cooking, limit butter, lard, fatback, and solid vegetable shortenings.
- When using fats and oils, use only small amounts and substitute those high in
unsaturated fat for those high in saturated fat.
- For a spread, use tub or liquid margarine, or vegetable
oil spread instead of butter.
- Flavor cooked vegetables with herbs or butter-flavored seasoning.
Top of page
Sweets and snacks (have only now and then)
Buying tips:
- Choose these low fat sweets for a special treat:
- brownies, cakes, cheesecakes, cupcakes, and pastries labeled "fat free" or "low fat."
Even though they have less fat, they still may be just as high in calories. If'you are
trying to lose weight, read the label to compare;
- animal crackers, devil's food cookies, fig and other fruit bars, ginger snaps, graham
crackers, and vanilla or lemon wafers;
- frozen low fat or nonfat yogurt, fruit ices, ice milk, popsicles, sherbet, and sorbet;
and
- gelatin desserts.
- Try these low fat snacks:
- bagels, bread sticks, melba toast, rice cakes, rye crisp, and soda crackers;
- unsweetened, ready-to-eat cereals;
- fresh fruit, fruit leather, or other dried fruit;
- pretzels, no-oil baked tortilla chips; and
- plain, air-popped popcorn.
Preparation tips:
- Freeze grapes or banana slices for treats.
- Make puddings with skim or 1 percent milk.
- Top angel food cake with fruit puree or fresh fruit slices.
- Cut up raw vegetables and serve with a low fat dip.
- Make air-popped or "light" microwave popcorn.
Read food labels
Reading food labels can help you and your family eat the heart-healthy way. Food labels have two
important parts: the nutrition label and the ingredients list. Also, some labels have claims like
"low fat" or "light."
Look on the nutrition label for the amount of saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, and total
calories in a serving of the product. Use this information to compare similar products and find
the ones with the smallest amounts.
If there is no nutrition label, look for the list of ingredients. Here, the ingredient in the
greatest amount is shown first and the ingredient in the least amount is shown last. So, to
choose foods low in saturated fat or total fat, go easy on products that list fats or oil
first--or that list many fat and oil ingredients.
In addition to the nutrition information and ingredients list, some food packages
have claims like "low fat," "light," or "fat free." See table 2
for a list of these claims and what they mean. And for more detailed information on reading
labels, order Step by Step: Eating To Lower Your High Blood
Cholesterol.
Related articles
Top of page
|
 |
|
|
