Low Cholesterol Diet Articles | Remedy

By: Richard Bleuze

Low Cholesterol Diet

Your doctor will often give you some tips on high cholesterol foods to avoid and puts you on a low cholesterol diet by telling you the foods you should eat more of in order to lower your cholesterol.

A patient will often have a high cholesterol and be told to implement a low cholesterol diet and lifestyle changes.

We have all been told that to help bring down a high blood test for cholesterol, that we need to avoid high cholesterol foods and thus the doctor puts us on a low cholesterol diet.

In addition, most of us have been told since childhood how the high cholesterol in eggs is a big no-no. And although not quite as commonly talked about, seafood lovers know that lobster is high in cholesterol as well.

It is just common sense that we need to stay away from these high cholesterol rich foods that are harmful to our arteries and heart health.

However, please note that high cholesterol foods like shrimp and lobster and especially eggs have NEVER been shown to increase blood cholesterol levels.

The only thing that does matter is if the digestion of that food causes more bad LDL cholesterol to enter into your bloodstream.

And the truth is that the high cholesterol levels in shrimp and eggs do not cause an increase in blood cholesterol levels.

However, you can still raise your cholesterol by eating eggs or shrimp depending on if you cook or eat them with butter or margarine. The difference on your arteries is significant.

Thus, the question that one should ask is if replacing butter with margarine lower your blood cholesterol levels and reduce your heart attack risk?

The answer is a NO!

As reported by Nutrition Week, those who eat margarine have twice the rate of heart disease as butter eaters.

The surprising fact to most is that the dietary (natural) fat in butter is not stored as excess body fat, but rather is used directly for energy.

The trade-off and decision in deciding between butter and margarine boils down to this...

Do you want to consume natural fats or artificial fats?

Natural fats (yes, even saturated fats) are necessary to the body for cell regeneration and to maintain proper balance. While anything artificial is viewed as a foreign object to the body and it takes extra "stress and energy" to deal with it.

Just remember when making any food choice: Natural foods are always better than artificial foods.

Butter is made from cream and is therefore a natural healthy fat. Believe it or not, butter does have nutritional value such as helping to boost the immune system. 

Margarine on the other hand, is an artificial spread concoction of chemicals. Margarine is one of the absolute worst things you can consume for both your arteries and heart.

Unfortunately, most doctors do not really understand natural foods as well as they understand drugs.  Thus, the end result is that you often get bad advice when it comes to using certain foods in your lowering cholesterol diet. 

Although, I am NOT a doctor, I am willing to share some foods that have proven to help regulate blood cholesterol levels.  Thus, I suggest the following in your low cholesterol diet:

1.  Oatmeal.  Yes, Quaker is not kidding around about oatmeal and cholesterol. Thanks so the soluble fiber, oatmeal really does help lower cholesterol.

If you’re already eating oatmeal already in your low cholesterol diet, you might also sprinkle some cinnamon on your oatmeal and get another boost of help with your cholesterol.

2.  Snack on what has been called the healthiest nut - the almond.  Stay away from roasted almonds. For optimum benefits you should eat raw almonds. 

3.  Another tip in lowering your cholesterol is never get anything salted with regular table salt in your cholesterol diet. Instead, opt for unsalted or salted with sea salt.

4.  Avoid if possible in your cholesterol diet, refined carbohydrates.  Included in this category would be foods such as sugary sweets, white flour, white rice, etc. Any food that causes your blood sugar to spike will lower your HDL.

5.  Other foods that should be used in your lowering cholesterol diet would include getting rid of trans fats, increasing your Omega 3 intake, and adding more soluble fiber to your cholesterol diet.

Maintaining a healthy low cholesterol diet is often the biggest frustration that many people complain in public.  The main reason being that most people prefer convenience than anything else rather than taste.

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