If the tests showed that the level of cholesterol in the body is higher than the permissible norm, a special diet becomes a vital necessity. It will help to avoid the development of serious diseases, in particular, problems with the heart and blood vessels.
Properly organized nutrition helps to stabilize the metabolism, which is impossible without cholesterol. It is part of cell membranes. It is also an important component for generating:
- Vitamin D
- sex hormones;
- bile acids.
In order for these biochemical processes to proceed normally, cholesterol must be in the blood in the right concentration. Exceeding it is a variant of the norm in only one case - during pregnancy, because it requires the bearing of a baby.
In all other cases, excess cholesterol causes significant damage to the body.
It is deposited in the arteries, on their walls, which leads to a narrowing of the lumen. This condition becomes especially dangerous if it is accompanied by:
- diabetes;
- Raynaud's disease (spasms of arteries);
- increased hemoglobin;
- hypertension.
Therefore, with high cholesterol, the diet should become not just a temporary restriction of the diet, but a way of life.
For the normal course of metabolic processes, a person needs 1 thousand milligrams of cholesterol per day. Of these, only 20% we get with food of animal origin, the rest is produced in our body. It turns out that only 200 or 300 mg need to be obtained from cholesterol nutrition.
Where does cholesterol come from? From animal fats. Also its source is trans fats. Therefore, the use of foods saturated with such fats on a diet with high cholesterol should be reduced. After all, only one serving of such food may contain more than a daily dose of cholesterol.
The following shall be excluded or limited:
- From meat products:
- fatty pork, old pork:
- beef;
- old lamb;
- sausages, sausages;
- smoked meat;
- semi-finished products;
- offal: liver, brain, lung, kidney.
For example: a portion of 100 grams of beef kidneys will put in the body more than 1100 mg of cholesterol!
- From dairy products:
- butter, as well as its substitutes (margarine, spread);
- sour cream;
- Cheeses
- whole milk;
- cream.
- Fat bird: duck, goose, chicken. Only the most non-greasy parts are allowed, mainly the breast in baked form and always without skin.
- The eggs. Cholesterol is in the yolk, a week you can eat only one or two, not more.
- Fish roe (> 200mg cholesterol per 100g).
- Shrimp (> 300mg cholesterol per 100g).
- Baking from butter or puff pastry.
- Fast food.
It is also not recommended to drink alcohol and coffee.
The emphasis should be on those foods that contain high amounts of fiber. It has the property of adsorbing cholesterol in the digestive tract and not allowing it to be absorbed. The leaders in its content are vegetables, a variety of cereals, fruits. Therefore, they should be the basis of nutrition.
On a diet with high cholesterol, the following are allowed and useful:
- Cereals: buckwheat, rice, wheat.
- Lean meat:
- lean beef;
- rabbit;
- skinless chicken.
- Skim milk, skim yogurt.
- Fresh vegetables, greens.
- Fruits.
- Legumes.
- Fish: salmon, cod, trout.
- Nuts.
- Mushrooms.
- High-quality green tea (natural, large leaf).
- Vegetable oil (preference - linseed, olive).
All these products, if you make them the basis of a permanent menu, will help not only reduce cholesterol. Such a diet improves well-being, gives the effect of weight loss, reduces the risk of blood clots.
First of all, nutrition on such a diet should be fractional, and portions in size small. In addition, it should:
- Give preference to fish, rather than meat, eat it at least two to three times a week. There is little cholesterol in it, and there are plenty of useful substances, including omega acids.
- Coarse cereal and bread should be on the table daily. Any porridge can be flavored with dried fruits and nuts. In nuts, fatty monoacids will be of particular benefit - they regulate the amount of cholesterol. And in dried fruits there are antioxidants that have the same effect.
- Be sure to introduce legumes into the diet. Beans, lentils, peas with daily use, due to its beneficial composition, will help to lower cholesterol by 10 percent in a month and a half.
- 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day is a necessary minimum.
- Products in oil cannot be fried.
Knowing the list of allowed and harmful products, as well as being guided by the above rules, menus for a diet with high cholesterol can be formed according to your desire and taste.
For breakfast there are such options:
- millet porridge with pumpkin + tea with milk;
- oatmeal + fruit salad + tea;
- protein omelet (2 protein) + vegetable salad + tea.
For lunch you can cook:
- soup from pearl barley and vegetables + steamed meatballs from lean meat or fish with carrots + compote;
- vegetable soup + baked chicken breast with vegetable side dish + dried fruit compote;
- soup with celery and oatmeal + stewed zucchini with mushrooms + compote.
For an afternoon snack you can eat:
- kefir or cottage cheese with a banana;
- seaweed salad;
- beetroot salad with green peas.
For dinner, fit:
- fish with vegetables and rice;
- vegetable stew with turkey;
- pink salmon or trout, baked in foil or in a slow cooker on a vegetable pillow.
Also, for a snack between breakfast and lunch, you can use an apple or other fruits, berries, dried fruits, several nuts. For a day, it is worth taking 150 grams of bran bread, and also limit sugar to a norm of 35 grams, and it is better to replace it with honey.
Sweet pepper and tomato salad
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of tomatoes;
- 120 grams of multi-colored pepper;
- olive oil;
- bow;
- lemon zest.
Cut the pepper into slices, after removing the seeds and partitions. Cut the tomatoes into circles, onions into rings. Put in a salad bowl, season with zest and oil.
Turkey and vegetable stew (in a slow cooker)
Ingredients
- a small head of cauliflower;
- carrot;
- Sweet pepper;
- a pound of turkey fillet;
- bulb;
- two potatoes;
- salt pepper;
- vegetable oil.
Cut the turkey fillet into slices. All vegetables except cauliflower, cut into a cube. We sort cabbage into separate inflorescences. We put all the components of the dish in a multicooker bowl, add vegetable oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well. We install the necessary program on the multicooker, usually it is "Braising", it lasts about an hour.
Baked trout
Ingredients
- small trout;
- bulb;
- two potato tubers;
- three cloves of garlic;
- greenery;
- salt pepper.
We wash the trout carcass, clean it, divide it into portions, add it. Peel potatoes and onions. We cut tubers in circles, onions in rings. Finely chop the greens and garlic. Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil. We spread the potatoes, onions, herbs, garlic, season with salt and pepper. Lay the fish on top, cover with foil and bake in the oven (200 degrees, half an hour).
