Low Cholesterol Diet
Menu Plans, Recipes and A Lot More!

Low Cholesterol Diet Preliminaries

The Mayo Clinic website page on the Definition of Cholesterol and why you are on a low cholesterol diet states: “When you have high cholesterol, you may develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack. Decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke.” This is preliminary to the low cholesterol diet menu plans and recipes information below.

Regarding a Low Cholesterol Diet, see the Harvard School of Public Health The Nutrition Source for Fats and Cholesterol. Get started in your low cholesterol diet by learning which oils to use, and not use, and then see the Healthy Eating Pyramid page under What Should You Eat? directory.

See the Lifestyle and Home Remedies page of the Mayo Clinic section on High Blood Cholesterol. In it you will see the essential basic guidelines “Lifestyle Changes” necessary to lower your cholesterol: Lose excess pounds, Eat heart-healthy foods, Exercise regularly, Don’t smoke and the specifics within each topic for exactly what you need to do in order to lower your cholesterol.

Another Mayo Clinic site, it’s a good one - Top 5 foods to lower your numbers. If the Mayo Clinic says it, its important to know!

From the American Heart Association Eat a Healthy Heart Diet Cooking for Lower Cholesterol page, see dietary details. Then, see their Featured Recipe from the American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook, Third Edition. You can purchase the cookbook online from their site.

John Hopkins Heart Healthy Diet and Substitutions See this low cholesterol diet guide, fats to avoid and a super good Substitutions section: “Instead of” – “Choose”

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s booklet Your Guide to Lowering Cholesterol with Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) is 85 pages and it’s the best guide and information on Cholesterol I’ve seen. The NIH explains it as such: ”Need to lower your cholesterol? TLC (therapeutic lifestyle changes) is a set of tools you can use to get results. This easy-to-read booklet is designed to help you make the lifestyle changes that will lower blood cholesterol and reduce your risk for heart disease. It explains how to follow the TLC diet (low in saturated fat, trans fat, and dietary cholesterol), increase physical activity, and manage weight for people whose cholesterol level is above their goal. The guide includes helpful lists and charts, sample menus, a 10-year coronary heart disease risk calculator, and many tips for success. Make TLC part of your program for heart health.”

Specifically regarding diets, so far I have been researching for hours (and hours) and have seen dozens and dozens of sites, but have not seen any recipes for low cholesterol diet meals.

The sites I have seen, which I have lead you to, the most prominent and reputable sites (above) do not give you diets, or menu plans to follow. I saw a few sites that, believe me, although they are billed as information sites, really just eschew the same information, not always well. One site is selling oatmeal supplements. I cannot understand why not just buy oatmeal? Why the supplement? Oatmeal is oatmeal. Maybe there is some scientific reason or chemical in oatmeal that some people cannot eat. In any case, there is a lot out there and as I said before, separating the wheat from the chafe takes so much time.

But It’s Only My Opinion…

To date, I have been unable to come up with any actual diet menu plans to pass along, but for some quick and easy suggestions on how to conveniently reduce the cholesterol in your current diet by using foods to lower cholesterol you can effectively reduce the amount of wrong kinds of fats to lower your LDL or low-density cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol, as opposed to the "good" HDL or high-density cholesterol). That is the primary objective, and it isn’t difficult to do. All one must do is lower the intake of these fats in your food. You must therefore, eat natural foods, such as fruits and vegetables which have no cholesterol; cereals – oatmeal is as good as it gets for eating a grain, and whole wheat bread, both are simple to work into your diet; nuts instead of meat if possible – cholesterol is naturally nonexistent in them; if you want to eat meat eat lean meat, and put more fish and poultry in your diet. Fish, especially salmon, contain a high amount of Omega 3 which is a very heart healthy vitamin; and then round out your diet with more fruit, aside from at breakfast try having an apple in the afternoon, with a piece of dark chocolate. That way you eat a healthy snack and get a boost of energy to help get you through the afternoon.

Regarding fruit, although my advice is positively novice, but this is common knowledge, that red fruit (i.e. berries of all types) are well known to be essential anti-oxidants. I have made it a point within the past couple of years to eat them, you can even consume berries in your jam – strawberry, blueberry, blackberry – all good! Otherwise, berries can be expensive, strawberries are the most reasonably priced, they’re delicious but the season is short. Get them while they are in season and eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dessert! They are great for a low cholesterol diet.

Another great cholesterol-lowering food addition to your diet, that can work well to fill you up and that make a tasty meal or addition to it are legumes. Legumes of all sorts are easily available, easy to prepare, are available in the market if you don’t prepare them yourself, and are very tasty. Examples are lentil soup, beans to accompany a meal, either black beans, white beans, navy beans, pinto beans, and of course my mother’s favorite – lima beans. I was never too crazy for lima beans, but I work in plenty of the other beans mentioned into my diet now and they are delicious, always an addition to a meal that I look forward to.

If you have not gotten enough of this information – use olive oil – yet, I will mention it again briefly. Olive oil can become a way of life. You can use it on anything, even baked potatoes, instead of butter (which is very high in cholesterol). Olive oil is great to use to saute in to prepare your meat and fish. You certainly can use it as a salad dressing, a little vinegar, some S and P, and you are good to go. If in a salad dressing you want something more than O and V, then add some blue cheese and you not only have a good dressing, you have a healthy dose of calcium too.

Olive oil is an essential part of a low cholesterol diet.

There are other healthy oils that are recommended for use in food preparation and for general use, but olive oil gets my vote, it is my oil of choice. It is great for you and is deliciously flavorful.

I almost forgot to mention garlic! Needless to say it is great tasting, a great enhancer of flavors of food you add it to and garlic is good for you. Use it liberally. If you would like more information on garlic and its nutritional virtues then click here: The World’s Healthiest Foods. You can look around in this site and read interesting articles on lots of other healthy foods and ideas for your low cholesterol diet!

Now back to my actual low cholesterol diet plan search. . .

This is not an actual diet plan, however, the books that are written and available from the American Heart Association contain great recipes and probably do also contain meal planning, as most cookbooks do. Check them out on the AHA site: American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Diet Cookbook, Third Edition.

I sincerely apologize, but here is a so-called "low cholesterol diet" offered online. First, there are FEW, if ANY low cholesterol diets online, then there is this. This actual menu is the only one offered. There are no more menus offered on the next page or on the whole site. Not even where it indicates “For more free low cholesterol diet (s) visit:” The rest of the site offers more but good information on cholesterol, what not to eat in general and suggestions of what to eat.

I believe that if you give a low cholesterol diet some time and thought you can come up with simple, great, tasty meals that may be at least as exciting, if not more, than following a menu that may be provided to you, in some sites (ahem). I am not a dietician, but if you have a list of foods that are recommended to eat and you know what to eliminate and avoid altogether, you can come up with several menu items for each meal and an overall plan for you own low cholesterol diet. It is all very simple to do, then you can embellish your plan with some recipe suggestions from low cholesterol diet cookbooks, such as the ones that the AHA publishes.

Menu items such as a bowl of cereal or oatmeal for breakfast - have it with non fat milk and you’re in business! For lunch – eat a tuna sandwich with whole wheat bread, and eat an apple. It’s filling, it’s yummy, and it’ll lower your cholesterol. Perhaps it seems I am being too simplistic however, when you consider that there are millions of people who have high cholesterol, and millions who are either at risk for or have heart conditions all because of not eating correctly, then the only solution is to go back to the basics, and they are very simple. Designing your low cholesterol diet using simple basics can work.

Quick mention – lowering carbohydrates is not the same as lowering cholesterol. In what is available online about low cholesterol diet, there is a lot of carbohydrate-lowering info, which is not the same thing.

The Best Is Yet To Come (this isn’t it - yet)

At this point I am going to print what was a great outline for me, as I was restructuring my diet a couple of years ago. I had been dieting, had lost 10 pounds and wanted to eat heartily again without gaining weight back. While in search of good, healthy diet information I ran across the following advice. I applied it to my diet and without trying I lost another 10 pounds. The time it took for weight to shed was 6 months, but it was quite significant and since I was not dieting to lose weight it was amazing and neat to become thin. It was a new me.

Here’s the document - below. I found it online, I do not know who the credit ought to be given to for writing it, if I knew I’d pass it along. It is probably the best information Ive ever seen on diets, not for loosing but for a life plan to follow. I think you will agree. These suggestions are perfect for a low cholesterol diet.

8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day

I read an this article years ago, kept it, lived by it and it had a distinct affect on my weight. And on my health.

The Eight Essential foods you should eat every day are:

Spinach Important for a low cholesterol diet!

Muscle growth, Heart healthy, Bone builder, Enhances eyesight

It may be green and leafy, but spinach is also the ultimate man food. This noted biceps builder is a rich source of plant-based omega-3s and folate, which help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. Bonus: Spinach is packed with lutein, a compound that fights age-related macular degeneration. Aim for 1 cup fresh spinach or 1/2 cup cooked per day.

SUBSTITUTES: Kale, bok choy, romaine lettuce

FIT IT IN: Make your salads with spinach; add spinach to scrambled eggs; drape it over pizza; mix it with marinara sauce and then microwave for an instant dip.

PINCH HITTER: Sesame Stir-Braised Kale: Heat 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger, and 1 tsp. sesame oil in a skillet. Add 2 Tbsp. water and 1 bunch kale (stemmed and chopped). Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Drain. Add 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds.

Read the other 7 Essential foods you should eat every day by clicking here. You will be glad you did.

Good, 100 Calorie Snacks

Read all 28 of them! Savory or sweet, there are many choices that can keep you on a good, satisfying, low calorie, low cholesterol diet track.

AND if that isn’t enough good, fun information, here is another document I find to be good advice:

10 Tips to Lose Weight for Good - Simple rules for a lifetime of healthy eating

Forget all the complicated eating plans or one-size-fits-all diets. These simple rules are the key to a lifetime of healthy eating: Read them by clicking into the Loose Weight for Good! page.

EUREKA! You Have Found It! (This is it!)

After what I will just say is a long time and many dedicated searches, I have finally come across sites which have diet – either menus, recipes, diet plans or both. I hope you are still here, after reading the copy above, and that it has been worth waiting for. . . great sites for your low cholesterol diet menus.

I found the most phenomenal program online that does a menu plan for you according to your specifications of the number of calories you want to maintain daily and aside from the menu plan, which is remarkable, it has great, great recipes for the suggested menu items. This is the best thing I’ve ever seen! One hardly needs to go further. On the home page of this site, it specifically mentions a low cholesterol diet, unique, then they actually procure one tailored to your specific size and needs. I hope you have read down this far, and when you get here, be sure to click into this site for your low cholesterol diet menu plan!!! Dr. Gourmet – The Real World Diet. You are definitely going to love this!

What a great suggestion this is! Cooking Light – Making Healthy Taste Great is just a super site to get recipes for every meal, that are fun and delicious! Use this site for all your meals, especially for your low cholesterol diet, and not only will you lose weight, you can be the happiest dieter on the block! It’s all about feeling good and being healthy. These foods will help you do both.

OK, this suggestion is a great stretch - I sought low calorie healthy recipes for your low cholesterol diet from some fruit growers associations, and found some great sites: One, a site from the U.S. Apple Association Recipe Page. You know the old saying…”an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. I live by that. Give some of these apple recipes a try.

Another - the U. S. Apple Association have some stiff competition from the Virginia Apple people and their recipe page, see the Virginia Apples Tasty Recipes page. It’ll knock your socks off, it’s that good. Healthy - low cholesterol diet recipes here!

Now when someone says “Eat your vegetables” you don’t have to scowl at them, you will be happy to eat them when they are prepared using these great vegetable recipes! Who would have thought! Cooks.com Vegetable page to find any vegetable imaginable, plus legumes, to find low calorie, low cholesterol diet recipes to help you in your menu planning.

After I’d days, weeks, months, online researching this page (time flies when you're having fun) I have seen exactly 2 actual diets. This is the second. It’s a very good site. Check it out! lifeclinic Personal HealthManagement Low Cholesterol Diet Menu. The site is pretty interesting, amazing actually, considering there are just 10’s of thousands of searches for this information, and probably hundreds of sites who offer cholesterol info of some sort but not low cholesterol diet plans. So it’s a really genuinely good site, all the more because it actually DOES what it says it will do…provide low cholesterol diet menus. Plus! An amazing added benefit, another amazing actual result – low cholesterol diet recipes! See their Cookbook page, its great!

Another Eureka moment, more actual low cholesterol diet recipes! Will wonders never cease? And this site is a natural, (I should have thought of this before) see the terrific Food Network page on Low Cholesterol Diet Recipes! There are just a few (8 that I counted) recipes, but they are good stuff and I think you will like them!

Those are the menu, diet, recipe sites. I am going to give you just a few other sites that are of importance in your quest for good, useful information for your Low Cholesterol Diet.

See the most recent (2005) US Dietary Guidelines (click on the graphic to the left of the title for the document to come up!) This document is the grand pu-bah, the most important diet guide printed, and is great. Mandatory information for your low cholesterol diet planning!

Just another informative ditty: HeartPoint Low Cholesterol Diet. It isn’t a diet plan as such, with menus, but it’s got plenty of good information.

Aaaand that’s a wrap! This is a long page, please take the time to make sure you see it as many times as you need to in order to get all the information you need to make your low cholesterol diet a success, and enhance your healthy lifestyle and live healthy longer.

Please! Give me your comments and suggestions about the Low Cholesterol Diet page on my Contact Us page, I will really appreciate it.

The best to you in your effort to lower your cholesterol. I hope the suggestions made here on Answer My Health Question are of good use.

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