Treatment for Cholesterol

You have been diagnosed with high cholesterol and would like to know how to treat this condition, the first step in the right direction is to start eating right to prevent heart disease and stroke. Even if you have many years of unhealthy eating behind you, by simply making a couple of changes to your diet, you can vastly reduce cholesterol and improve your health - here’s how:

• Choose unsaturated fats: saturated fats which are found in red meat and dairy products raise your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.
• As a general rule, you get no more than 10% of your daily calories from saturated fat.
• Instead, choose leaner cuts of meat, low-dairy and monounsaturated fats which are found in olive oil and canola oils which are healthier options.
• Eliminate Trans fats: Trans fats can be found in fried foods and many commercially baked products - these include cakes, cookies, crackers and snack cakes.
• Never rely on packages that are labelled “trans-fat-free”.

You can usually tell if a food has trans-fat in it if it contains partially hydrogenated oil.

To limit the cholesterol in your food, you need to know where it comes from. Dietary cholesterol comes from poultry, meat, fish and daily products. Organ meats such as liver are particularly high in cholesterol, while foods of plant origin contain no cholesterol.

It is a good idea to aim for no more than 300 mg of cholesterol every day - this is less than 200mg if you have heart disease. Opt for lean cuts of meat, egg substitutes and skim milk.

Stock up on fruit and veg - fruit and veg are rich in dietary fibre which assists in lowering cholesterol.