Cholesterol Talk!

The food pyramid is a great place to start for structuring a low cholesterol diet to improve ones health.

The United States Department of Agriculture has restructured the food pyramid of the past into the MyPyramid plan which considers age, gender and amount of physical activity you get each day. Still, this pyramid is a good way to know how much of each food group and what type of foods one need to eat each day to be at the healthiest.

“Grains” is the food group which is important in a low cholesterol diet. Three ounces of grains – at least half whole grains and the other half, refined grains – are to be eaten a day. Whole grain products are those that contain the bran, germ and endosperm of the grain. The process of refining removes the grain and bran for a finer texture product, but also removes many of the nutritional benefits of grains.

Food Group
“Vegetables” and “fruits” is another food group that is important for good heart health. Eat 2-3 cups of vegetables and 1 ½ - 2 cups of fresh fruits a day depending on one’s gender and age to maintain good health. Remember to include more dark green and orange vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, turnip greens, squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkins in your diet. Dried beans and peas are also an important part of a low cholesterol diet. A good choice of vegetable includes black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans and black-eyed peas. Good fruit choices for your low cholesterol diet include berries, melons, apples and juices made of 100 percent fruit juice.

The food group of oils and fats, such as butter, are best avoided. Although one tend to add a small proportion to our foods, it is healthier to skip them altogether or only consume about 5-7 teaspoonfuls of oils from foods each day. Most people will get the recommended amounts of oils from the foods they eat. Good sources of oils include fish, nuts and vegetable oils. A final note, avoid oils that are solid at room temperature, such as butter, because they contain saturated fats. Eating a diet high in saturated fats can raise cholesterol level and should not be included in the low cholesterol diet.

Dairy Products
Dairy products are an important addition to ones diet because they give one their needed daily calcium which is good for strong bones. Include 3 cups of milk, cheese or yogurt in the diet each day. For good heart health and low cholesterol diet, stick with low fat or reduced fat dairy products.

One should watch the meats they eat carefully to have a low cholesterol diet. Include 5-6 ounces of meat in the diet each day. The best choices are fish, poultry, nuts and seeds. Watch out! Eggs are also included in this group but limit the number of egg yolks you eat to 1 - 2 weekly. One should grill the meats instead of frying them.

If your goal is to lower your cholesterol, try using the government’s food pyramid as a guide for a low cholesterol diet. Then make low fat or fat-free choices to help you meet your goal. Alternarively, you can give HypoCol a try!

*Free shipping worldwide on selected products!

Join us at Cholesterol Talk! - the fastest growing cholesterol community around the world