How to Lower Your Cholesterol and heart disease risk
Decrease Cholesterol Intake
Since our bodies make plenty of cholesterol for our needs, we do not need to add any in our diet. Cholesterol is found in all foods that come from animals: red meat, poultry, fish, chicken, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products.
Choosing lean cuts of meat is not enough; the cholesterol is mainly in the lean portion. Many people are surprised to learn that chicken contains as much cholesterol as beef, 25 mg per ounce.9 Every 4-ounce serving of beef or chicken contains 100 mg of cholesterol. Most shellfish are also very high in cholesterol.
All animal products should be avoided for this reason. No foods from plants contain cholesterol, since plants do not have a liver to produce it. Every 100 mg of cholesterol in your daily diet adds roughly five points to your cholesterol level, although this varies from person to person. In practical terms, 100 mg of cholesterol is contained in 4 ounces of beef or chicken, half an egg, or three cups of milk.
People can reduce their cholesterol levels dramatically by changing the foods they eat. For every 1 percent you reduce your cholesterol level, you reduce your risk of heart disease by 2 percent.10 For example, a reduction from 300 mg/dl to 200 mg/dl (i.e., a one-third reduction) will yield a two-thirds reduction in the risk of a heart attack. For some people, the benefits are even greater.
Decrease Fat Intake, Especially Saturated Fats
Keeping total fat intake low is an important way to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of other chronic diseases. Animal products, including meat and dairy products, as well as fried food and vegetable oils are all loaded with fat. The food industry reports the fat content by weight, which allows the water content to throw off the measurements and make these products look more healthful than they actually are.
The most important piece of information to look for is the percentage of calories from fat. In the leanest cuts of beef, about 30 percent of the calories come from fat. Skinless chicken is nearly as high at 23 percent. Even without the skin, chicken is never truly a low-fat food. Most cheeses contain 60 to 80 percent of calories from fat, and ice creams often contain 45 to 65 percent. Butter, margarine, and oils of all types typically contain 95 to 100 percent of calories from fat. Grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits have less than 10 percent of their calories coming from fat.
Animal products also contain saturated fat, which causes the liver to produce more cholesterol. Unsaturated fats do not have this effect. Saturated fats are easy to spot because they are solid at room temperature, whereas unsaturated fats are liquid. Beef, chicken, and most other animal products contain substantial amounts of saturated fat. This is another good reason to avoid these foods. A few vegetable oils are also high in saturated fats.
These are known as tropical oils: palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil. Many packaged foods contain hydrogenated oils. These are both high in saturated fat and chemically hardened to make them solid at room temperature to increase their shelf life. While liquid vegetable oils are much better than animal fats and tropical oils, all fats and oils are natural mixtures of saturated and unsaturated fats. Therefore, none of them will do your coronary arteries any good, and consumption should be kept to a minimum.
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