10 simple diet changes to lower cholesterol level

PROTECT YOURSELF against heart disease.

“On its own, the body produces some cholesterol,” reports the Readers’ Digest’s How to do Just About Everything under the topic “Cholesterol.”  However, “the foods you eat can add significant amounts of cholesterol to your blood.” It further explains that “A (cholesterol) level of 240 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood serum is generally considered a normal cholesterol level for adults; however, some specialists advocate a norm of 200 milligrams.”

The following are some cholesterol-cutting practices suggested by the book:

1. Cut back on such foods as red meats and organ meats (liver and kidneys).

2. Cut down on most shellfish and such fatty fish as salmon, mackerel, and canned fish packed in oil.

3. Reduce consumption of egg yolks (limit yourself to four per week); dairy products containing butterfat such as butter, cream, whole milk, cream cheese, regular cottage cheese, hard cheeses, ice cream; and animal fats (lard, bacon, salt pork).

4. Avoid fried foods. If you have to us oil in cooking, use safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed, sesame, or olive oil.

5. Switch to skim or low-fat milk and other low-fat dairy products.

6. Get more of your protein from legumes such as dried beans, split peas, lentils, and chickpeas.

7. Use non-stick pans so that you need much less fat when cooking foods.

8. Trim visible fat from meats and poultry; discard poultry skin.

9. Substitute soft margarine for butter –but check labels; saturated fats are higher in some than in others.

10. Cut down on sweet baked goods—most are high in fat.

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