Everything you need to know about the cholesterol diet
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Millions of people in the world have cholesterol levels that are too high, and men are slightly more affected than women. It is possible to reduce it by up to 30% by modifying the diet. Here are the rules to know to start an anti-cholesterol diet.
Our body needs cholesterol to function and the liver produces 85%, the rest comes from food. Be careful, excess cholesterol can harm your health! To reduce it, priority to dietary measures.
What is high cholesterol?
The ideal level of total cholesterol should be less than 2 g/l, and we speak of hypercholesterolemia below 2.20 g/l. HDL ("good") is usually between 0.4 and 0.6 g/l. LDL ("bad") is between 1 and 1.6 g/l. The goal is to keep your LDL ( bad cholesterol ) low and your HDL ( good cholesterol ) high.
Simply by modifying your diet, it is quite possible to lower your blood cholesterol level by 15% to avoid hypercholesterolemia. A diet modification that is worthwhile as it can avoid the use of medications.
Raise good cholesterol to lower Ldl?
Raising your "good" cholesterol level helps fight LDL that is too high. Good cholesterol helps lower "bad" cholesterol by trapping it and stimulating its elimination by the liver. "No dietary measure can increase it," says Sophie Gougis. Unlike physical activity and smoking cessation, which have a positive effect."
What about hereditary cholesterol?
This disease of cholesterol metabolism transmitted from one generation to another would affect one in five hundred births. "Clearly it can be improved with dietary measures," says Dr. Lecerf. However, in most cases these measures are not sufficient to reach acceptable levels, and it is essential to combine them with pharmacological treatment. So don't stop the medication, even if you are very careful with your plate!
What nutrients should be increased in an anti-cholesterol menu?
To reduce the level of bad cholesterol, it is important to eat foods that contain nutrients capable of reducing this level. This means eating more vegetables, fruits (fresh and dried), whole grains and legumes (lentils, beans, soy), vegetable oils, fish to avoid hypercholesterolemia.
You will enhance your contributions:
in effective fibers that limit the assimilation of cholesterol;
good unsaturated fats that lower cholesterol and thin the blood;
antioxidants, which protect artery walls;
Vegetable proteins that reduce the absorption of cholesterol.
Eliminate fats: the goal is to choose better fats.
Eliminates "food" cholesterol, contained in egg yolks, viscera. Its impact on blood cholesterol is lower compared to saturated fats (butter, meats, cheeses).
A typical day on a cholesterol diet
At breakfast: drink, skimmed milk or fresh cheese or soy product, semi-full or full bread or cereal product, quality butter, fresh seasonal fruit, nuts (plums, etc.) or oleaginous fruits (walnuts, almonds, etc.).
At lunch or dinner:
1 part of vegetables rich in fiber (400 g/day, of which 1 raw) with 1 part of fish (100-120 g, 2 to 3 times/week including 1 oily fish) or lean meat (poultry, pork loin or grilled meat, rabbit, veal - tenderloin, flank steak, 5% fat ground beef, etc.), lamb and veal (schnitzel, trimmed ribs, shank, leg, trimmed shoulder, 1 to 2 times/week, or eggs 3 to 4/week.
1 part (less than vegetables) of whole or semi-whole grains (bread, rice, pasta, etc.) or legumes (at least twice a week).
Olive, canola, walnut oils. Salt sparingly.
1 fresh fruit (3/day of which 2 raw).
Possibility of low-fat dairy or fresh cheese (depending on the portion of meat or fish) or full-fat cheese (to limit).
Snack: possibility of taking 1 fruit from a meal and/or some dried fruit and/or 1 handful of oleaginous fruits. Same for 1 of the dairy products.
Limit cheeses, fatty meats, sausages, as well as processed products such as pastries and ready meals, which are very rich in saturated fatty acids.
Fats to favor in case of cholesterol
To spread or melt: a vegetable butter, based on olive and canola oils and with a good omega-6/omega-3 ratio (< 4). Or an oilseed puree (almond, hazelnut, etc.).
To cook: olive oil as a priority, otherwise special quality cooking butter.
To season: olive oil (for its omega-9) and canola or walnut or camelina oil (for its omega-3); For a balanced fatty acid vinaigrette, mix half olive oil and half canola oil.
To make recipes and snacks: oilseeds (walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.) to put in a dairy product, a compote, a salty or sweet sponge cake, etc. Almond powder can also substitute part of the flour.
Fresh seasonal fruits and nuts (plums, figs, blueberries) .
Seasonal fresh vegetables, seasonings and herbs: garlic, onion, shallot, spices, seaweed (fresh, dried in flakes).
Oily fruits: walnuts, avocado, olives, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, unsalted pistachios.
Cereals and legumes: whole wheat pasta, quinoa, semi-brown rice, oatmeal, lentils, chickpeas, beans (dried or canned), buckwheat/kasha, potatoes.
Flours: wheat (T65, T80 or more), flax (% variable), brown rice, etc.
Skimmed dairy products: semi-skimmed milk, natural yoghurts, whipped white cheese, cottage cheese 3% MG.
Soy products: tofu, beverages, desserts.
Quickly lower bad cholesterol levels with sport: moderate activity (static bike, fast walk, swimming) reduces bad cholesterol after 15 days. These results are equivalent whether one practices half an hour each day or one hour three times a week. For more intense activity (dancing, jogging), two hours a week is enough.
Lose some weight to lower cholesterol.
"The effects of weight loss on total cholesterol levels, LDL in particular, are often rapid and dramatic," says Dr. Lecerf. Losing 5% of your weight actually leads to about a 10% drop in total cholesterol over the next two months.
Case by case, what is the right diet to lower cholesterol?
Apart from heredity, a high cholesterol level is rarely isolated and is accompanied by other health parameters to improve. Here are some tips from our experts to lower your bad cholesterol levels depending on the situation.
How to lower cholesterol when you have triglycerides?
"Contrary to what one might think, in the case of hypertriglyceridemia, it is not the fats but the sugar, in particular fructose, and alcohol that must be reduced, because the liver transforms them into triglycerides", explains Dr. Lecerf. Here are some dietary tips to follow to lower your bad cholesterol level when you have triglycerides.
Limit yourself to 2 fruits per day. That's 300g maximum. We ensure a sufficient intake of vitamins, minerals and fiber by consuming more vegetables.
Eliminate sodas and fruit juices. A glass of fruit juice (150 ml) contains 14-16 g of sugar. We prefer a glass of lemon sparkling water or tomato juice.
Avoid sweets. No more than one sweet (biscuit, pastry), in moderate amounts, per week and we taste without sugar (spices, oilseeds, flavored infusions).
If it's too hard, just 1 glass of wine a day, and not every day.
Bet on the "good" fat. "A significant intake of omega-3s may help lower blood triglycerides," says Dr. Lecerf. Provide 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil rich in them (canola, walnuts, camelina), 30 g of oilseeds and 1 to 2 servings of oily fish.
What to eat when you have cholesterol and are overweight?
"Excess weight can, in some subjects, increase bad cholesterol," says Dr. Lecerf. In this case, a careful reduction of energy intake is necessary." Here are some dietary tips to follow to reduce the level of bad cholesterol when you are overweight.
Moderate starches. We plan about 150-200 g (cooked weight) of pasta, rice, semolina or 60-80 g of bread per meal for a woman, 200-250 g (or 80-100 g of bread) for a man. We prefer whole grains, refined grains - especially rice - which tend to raise triglycerides.
Control fat. For both cooking and seasoning, we use canola, walnut, and olive oils, varying: 2-3 tsp per meal, or about 10-15g instead of butter.
Eat mindfully. Chewing well, savoring it, taking your time, is essential to start losing weight.
Reduce sugary sweets. No more than once a week, preparing them at home and favoring low-fat desserts, such as fruit desserts and mousses that are easy to lighten by substituting yogurt or cottage cheese for cream, and gelatin or agar agar for eggs.
What to eat to lower cholesterol when you have hypertension?
If blood pressure is too high, the priority is to reduce sodium intake and increase potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Here are some dietary tips to follow to lower your bad cholesterol levels when you have hypertension.
Try to consume less than 6 g of salt per day. Knowing that the basic diet provides an average of 2 g per day, there are 4 g left, to be distributed between added salt and that provided by certain foods (sausages, cheese, bread, etc.). We limit bread and cheese, and trade salt for spices and herbs Prepared dishes can be used occasionally, as a complement, as long as you opt for those that contain less than 1 g of salt per serving (that is, 400 mg of sodium), that is, 3 g of salt for a plate of 300g
Increase the portion of vegetables. 4 to 5 servings a day, starter and main course, raw and cooked, for lunch and dinner. And 2-3 fruits a day.
Make sure of 2 to 3 dairy products a day. Prefer semi-skimmed versions. And complete your calcium intake by drinking calcium-rich mineral water.
Reduce alcoholic beverages. Maximum 2 glasses per day for a man, 1 for a woman with at least one day without drinking per week.
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