TOP 9 effective diets for lowering high blood cholesterol

17 March 2022

Therapeutic diet for high blood cholesterol is a key link in the treatment of this disease. Consider how to avoid excess fat and cholesterol in your diet. We will figure out how to choose the most suitable healthy food for each day and an approximate menu for the week if you experience hyperlipidemia.

20 basic dietary rules for high cholesterol

Elevated cholesterol can be a cause of coronary heart disease, lower extremity venous thrombosis, stroke, myocardial infarction. You can prevent the effects of severe chronic hyperlipidaemia by following these simple rules.

Nutrition in hypercholesterolaemia should be partial. Try to eat 5-6 small meals a day. Thus, there is no increased appetite and risk of overeating after prolonged fasting.
Eat vegetables and fruits at any time and in large quantities. Dietary fiber accelerates the removal of excess cholesterol from the body.
The diet for bad cholesterol should be mainly foods with vegetable fats. When cooking butter, try using olive oil.
Try to eat lean meat no more than a couple of times a week. Recipes and menus using poultry, veal, rabbit and lamb are best suited for high cholesterol.
Proper nutrition with high cholesterol is supported by sports. Gentle walks of at least three kilometers are recommended for people with high levels of low-density lipoprotein.
The diet for hypercholesterolaemia should mainly consist of steamed, fried, cooked foods. Baking should be avoided altogether.
If you have high cholesterol, avoid foods high in animal fat. No need to eat bacon, pork, bacon, smoked meat. Replace these products with boiled poultry, fish, seafood.
Elevated salt levels in food are contraindicated in patients with high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. Try to eat no more than 5 grams of salt a day. It is best to give up this product completely.
It is necessary to drink at least two liters of water a day, especially with thick blood and elevated bilirubin. Elevated levels of these parameters usually indicate liver and gallbladder problems leading to hyperlipidaemia. Elevated blood viscosity provokes the fixation of blood clots on lipid deposits in the vessels. It is necessary to eat sour berries that can thin the blood, such as cherries and gooseberries.
Sweet pastries and high cholesterol are a bad combination. Milk chocolate should also be avoided. Sugar-free oatmeal cookies, dried fruits, nuts and honey are suitable as an alternative dessert. Sometimes you can treat yourself to Eastern Turkish pleasure.
The daily caloric requirement is different for women and men, averaging 2, 200 kcal and 2, 600 kcal, respectively. Increased calorie intake is also necessary for people who do strenuous physical work. These factors are important when designing a diet.
Be sure to refrain from excessive alcohol consumption. Red wine is allowed, but no more than two glasses a week.
Coffee is a controversial ally in the fight against high cholesterol. It contains kafestol, which increases the production of endogenous cholesterol in the liver. But some experts, on the contrary, recommend drinking 1-2 cups of coffee a day, because it helps strengthen the cardiovascular system. So you can drink coffee, but don't abuse it. An alternative is a chicory drink or green tea.
Boil the porridge every day. Try not to cook the cereals, leaving them crushed. Don't eat a ready-made meal with a lot of butter if you have high cholesterol. For example, oatmeal is suitable for flavoring honey and dried fruits.
Hyperlipidaemia precludes the use of fatty dairy products. Replace them with nonfat yogurt and kefir. Use low-fat yogurt and kefir as a substitute.
Products that contain harmful trans fats, such as fast food products, are strongly contraindicated. Avoid chips and other snacks.
When cooking poultry, remove the skin from the surface. Because it makes food fatter and contains harmful ingredients.
Semi-finished products and hypercholesterolaemia are mutually exclusive. Such products do not contain useful vitamins and minerals. Such food does not provide enough energy, but only clogs the body with ballast calories and fat.
Try not to overeat at night. Eat dinner no later than two hours before bedtime. To suppress your appetite before going to bed, it is better to drink a glass of kefir or eat a few dates, a handful of almonds.
Your doctor will tell you how best to eat. After weighing all the risks and comorbidities, an experienced specialist will help you develop the most effective diet plan. Self-treatment for high cholesterol is not recommended.

Elevated cholesterol is a reversible process if you follow the above recommendations and have a regular medical check-up.

Popular diets for lowering cholesterol in women and men

A cholesterol-lowering diet can be based on a combination of different foods. To significantly lower your blood cholesterol, it is important to follow a recommended diet for a long period of at least six months.

A comparative description of the most popular of these will help you understand the different types of diets that regulate high cholesterol.

Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean cholesterol-lowering diet is recommended for people with atherosclerosis, hypertension and overweight. Such a diet is based on an abundance of cheese, meat, fish and spices. Nevertheless, these products are perfectly combined and have a positive effect on high cholesterol. List of foods included in the diet:

Spices and herbs.
Soft cheeses such as feta.
Olive oil.
Fish, mussels, shrimp.
Bird, lamb.
Red wine in moderation.
Unleavened bread made from wheat flour (pita).
Vegetables and fruits.
Greek yogurt.
Cereals.

Fatty meat, bacon, sausages and gas drinks are categorically excluded from the diet. Because these products can cause high cholesterol in the blood. For example, the following high cholesterol menu, calculated for the week, is offered:

Day 1

For breakfast: three yogurt flavored lentil breadcrumbs.
For lunch, refresh yourself with a creamy Brussels sprouts soup with shrimp; fruit plate and salad with olives and tofu.
For dinner, you can have a pita stuffed with feta cubes and a salad (cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, a couple of olives).

Day 2

A good start to the day is cottage cheese-buckwheat zrazy.
Lunch snack - light soup with lentils, risotto with vegetables.
Fried salmon, flavored with olive oil and Provencal herbs, will take care of your mood in the evening.

Day 3

Morning meal - buckwheat cooked in vegetable broth.
For lunch, tuna fried with vegetables will rejuvenate; tomato puree soup.
For dinner: salad with chicken breast and avocado, flavored with olive oil, pita.

Day 4

Breakfast: yogurt with chopped hazelnuts and almonds, you can add a little honey.
Light lunch: soup with fish cutlets, fried potatoes with tomatoes.
Dinner: vegetable salad with one egg, lemon juice and olive oil.

Day 5

Breakfast: oatmeal on water, adding honey and raisins.
Provides energy for lunch - spinach leaf and asparagus soup-puree with liquid cream; lightly cooked salmon with wild rice.
Dinner: Bake a pie with small cherry tomatoes and feta, on a wholemeal crust, optionally crush the tofu cubes.

Day 6

Breakfast: dried fruit souffle, green tea.
For lunch - cabbage soup, chicken stew with vegetables, one pita.
For dinner - zucchini with feta in the oven, pita with avocado and olive oil.

Day 7

For breakfast: pour the fried pumpkin with yogurt and honey.
Lunch: cream soup from mushrooms and chanterelles; grated with garlic, with sweet pepper in the oven.
Dinner: wild rice stew with mussels and shrimp.

Dates, prunes, raisins, almonds can be used for snacks between main meals. Such a diet will help not only to manage high cholesterol, but also to reduce body weight.

Diet table number 10

The cooking method is mainly cooking and baking. Because high cholesterol precludes the use of fried foods. It is recommended to eat at least five meals a day in small portions. Evening snacks no later than two hours before bedtime. Products that can be consumed:

Freshly squeezed vegetable juices, jelly.
Wholegrain bread.
Fresh vegetable salad.
Eggs without yolk.
Fish: tuna, salmon, carp.
Nonfat cottage cheese, kefir and yoghurt.
Kashi.

The following products should be dispensed with: butter, fatty meats and especially red, salted and smoked fish delicacies, fatty cheeses, pickled vegetables, mustard. A sample menu for the week if you have high cholesterol might look like this:

Early breakfast: 1% boiled buckwheat in milk, soft-boiled egg, weak green tea with milk.
Pre-dinner snacks: a piece of boiled chicken or fresh apple.
Lunch: vegetable broth with barley groats, mushrooms and finely chopped zucchini, fried salmon or carp with stewed vegetables (such as paprika, onions, zucchini), 1 glass of fresh apple juice.
Snacks: rosehip tea, nuts and dried fruits (such as prunes and almonds).
Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese, boiled grated beets with apples, 1 glass of low-fat milk.
At night: 1 glass of nonfat kefir.

During the week you can combine different food variations from vegetables, white poultry and fish. Use nuts and fruits for snacks, such as bananas or apples. Nutrition table no. 10 is recommended not only for the prevention of vascular atherosclerosis but also for hypothyroidism. With a regular diet for at least four months, high cholesterol can be significantly reduced.

Diet table number 10A

There are several limitations to this diet:

Bread - a maximum of 145 g per day.
Vegetable broth - up to 180 ml.
The use of cheese, pearls and millet is excluded.
Do not eat very hot or cold foods.

Diet table number 10, which has a positive effect on high cholesterol, looks like this every day:

Breakfast: chopped oatmeal with 1% milk, green tea, small apple.
Snack: fried apples with cottage cheese.
Lunch: steamed chicken meatballs, mashed potatoes without oil, half a glass of fresh apple juice.
Afternoon snacks: prunes or dates.
Dinner: oven-baked carrot-apple meatballs, half a glass of nonfat kefir.
Before going to bed: half a glass of wild rose tincture or chicory drink.

After the age of 50, more than 35% of people have high cholesterol. As a result, there is an increased risk of atherosclerotic disease progression and myocardial infarction, stroke. Therefore, at this age it is especially important to follow a proper diet in combination with light physical activity.

Nutrition table №10C

Table no. 10C is a therapeutic diet for lowering cholesterol. This type of diet is recommended for people with a diagnosis of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure caused by atherosclerosis. This menu is dominated by vegetable fats, dietary fiber, foods high in vitamins B, PP, C. The caloric content of the daily menu is about 2570 kcal. It is necessary to eat partial portions in six portions a day.

Recommended foods that have a beneficial effect on high cholesterol are:

Bran.
Sea cabbages.
Vegetables and fruits can be eaten in large portions.
Fry or boil the eggs lightly, a maximum of three pieces a week.
Buckwheat, oatmeal, barley porridge.
Dear, a couple of spoons a day.
Spaghetti durum, try not to overcook.

Prohibited foods include food-like menu number 10. The approximate daily diet is as follows:

Breakfast: boiled buckwheat without oil, light curd mass with seasonal fruits, tea.
Snacks: baked apple or dried apricots.
Lunch: stewed carrots, steamed beet meatballs, rice soup with vegetables lightly fried in olive oil, seasonal fruit compote.
Afternoon snack: unsweetened berry smoothie or honey with a handful of hazelnuts.
Dinner: Seasonal vegetable salad with olive oil and seaweed, salmon (another oily fish) fried with a slice of lemon and thyme, boiled potatoes, weak green tea.
Before going to bed: a glass of 1% kefir.

A healthy lifestyle is not limited to nutrition. Because high cholesterol requires complex treatment. Do not forget about physical exercise, as well as long walks in the fresh air.

low carb diet

Foods that are excluded from a low-carb menu include:

Sweet confectionery, white bread.
Sugar and fructose, honey.
Alcohol and gas-based sweet drinks.
Pasta and potatoes.
Milk chocolate.
Sweet fruits such as grapes.

Large amounts of animal protein in the daily diet, such as fish, dairy products, lean meat. This is what a low carb menu for a week might look like:

Monday

Egg white omelette with chopped mushrooms and tomatoes;
Creamy chicken and Brussels sprouts soup. Two wholemeal breads;
Pear;
Stewed veal with paprika.

Tuesday

Thin pancakes on kefir with cottage cheese, raisins.
Salmon ear. Two slices of cereal bread.
Green apple.
Stewed chicken fillet with spinach.

Wednesday

Cheesecakes with low - fat sour cream.
Buckwheat on water and fried chicken cutlet.
Orange.
Cold chicken.

Thursday

Whipped cottage cheese.
Cheese soup with chicken breast. Two wholemeal toasts.
Half a grapefruit.
Unpolished rice. Steamed zucchini and carrot cutlets, fresh cucumber.

on Friday

One soft egg sprinkled with grated cheese.
Fish stewed in a light creamy sauce.
Kiwi or one orange.
Boiled beans, mashed. Chicken rolls. One tomato.
Before going to bed - a glass of kefir.

on Saturday

Cottage cheese and natural yoghurt.
Steamed lamb meatballs and one cucumber.
Mandarin or apple.
Seafood. Arugula salad with olive oil.

Sunday

Steam omelette with chicken breast.
Turkey fillet fried with broccoli.
A glass of 1% kefir.
Rabbit stewed with vegetables (onion, zucchini, sweet pepper).

Following this diet, it is recommended to take up to two liters of fluid per day. For women, a low-carbohydrate diet may be a contraindication to breast-feeding and pregnancy. Elevated cholesterol with early detection can be successfully treated with dietary correction. Only your doctor can decide on the diet you should follow, after a detailed analysis of your history.

paleo diet

The Paleo diet includes foods that our Stone Age ancestors ate before agricultural development. High levels of animal protein are the basis of the prehistoric diet. At the same time, carbohydrates and fats are used much less in the diet. The main product is meat that contains animal protein. This is what speeds up the metabolic process and helps prevent the accumulation of excess fat.

The Paleo diet is suitable for lowering blood cholesterol levels by reducing the consumption of animal fats. It is recommended to eat every five hours, about three meals a day. The main products allowed are:

Meat and poultry without fat.
Seafood, fish.
Oils: olive, linseed, sesame.
Mushrooms, nuts and seeds, uncooked.
Fresh berries, vegetables and fruits.

Such a diet excludes sugar and salt from the diet, legumes and cereals, dairy products, starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes). It is recommended to eat mainly raw or after minimal heat treatment. This type of diet will help protect blood vessels from cholesterol and plaque formation. Elevated low-density lipoprotein levels can be normalized if the paleo diet is followed.

Keto diet

The keto diet is based on a minimum intake of carbohydrates. In this regard, the body trains to produce more energy from fat and protein. This high cholesterol diet helps reduce low-density lipoproteins. At the same time, "good" cholesterol levels increase.

Avoid bread, sugar, pasta, fruit and sweets during a ketogenic diet. With a lack of carbohydrates, the body begins to break down fat reserves intensively.

This diet is similar to a low carb diet. When choosing the optimal menu, you need to follow these rules:

Breakfast: Try to eat up to 15 g of carbohydrates in the morning. The source can be cheese or vegetables. It is recommended to eat an omelette in olive oil with tomatoes, adding toast with bran. Calorie content - 500-600 kcal.
You need to limit your carbs at lunch. Nutritionists recommend eating soup with chicken cutlets (without potatoes, noodles). Note that high cholesterol makes you eat vegetable broth. In the second you can eat brown rice with breast and a piece of cheese.
Dinner should contain an increased percentage of protein and fiber. Poultry or lamb, veal and green vegetables will work. It is better to fry the meat, but cook a salad of vegetables with a spoon of olive oil.

Following a ketogenic diet, the body works in an "emergency" state, being in a state of ketosis due to the production of ketone bodies (fatty acid derivatives). Therefore, medical supervision is required during such a diet. Despite the associated risks, elevated cholesterol levels return to normal during a keto diet.

Some say that diet will do little to lower cholesterol and recommend the use of statins. A very controversial statement. Many doctors and experts do not agree in principle on this point.

Ornish vegetarian diet

The diet was first developed by Dean Ornisch, Bill Clinton's personal physician. And it is based on strict control of the fat consumed. A maximum of 20 grams of fat per day is allowed. This diet is indicated if a person is diagnosed with hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis and obesity. Basically, the menu is vegetarian. This food is characterized by an increased percentage of carbohydrates in the food consumed.

It is necessary to combine Ornish diet with physical exercise, physical activities. The daily balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates is 10, 25, 75% respectively. Products recommended for use:

Vegetables, mainly green.
Lentils, beans, peas.
Apples and pears.
Buckwheat porridge made from corn, wheat and rice.

Eat moderately eat eggs, dairy products, cheeses, cookies. Red meat, puff pastry and confectionery, butter, mayonnaise, olives, nuts, seeds must be strictly excluded.

The sample menu for the week can be compiled as follows.

First day

Breakfast: chicory drink, one tablespoon of wheat bran, added to low-fat yogurt.
Lunch: some large potatoes, fried with tomatoes, cucumber, greens and iceberg lettuce salad, green apple.
Snacks: apricots or plums (3 pcs. ), Other seasonal fruits, low-fat cottage cheese.
Dinner: two wholemeal toasts, apple or pear, sprinkled with durum wheat spaghetti with low-fat cheese, berry compote.

The second day

Breakfast: freshly squeezed orange juice, rice porridge with low-fat milk, a glass of kefir.
Lunch: beans with mushrooms and onions, salad with tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers cooked with olive oil.
Afternoon snacks: strawberries, wheat bread.
Dinner: two slices of bran bread, half an avocado, buckwheat porridge stewed with mushrooms and carrots, green tea.

Third day

Breakfast: decaffeinated coffee, a cup of muesli with berries and low-fat milk.
Lunch: soup with pumpkin slices and spinach, couscous with vegetables, vinaigrette without pickles.
Afternoon snacks: a glass of kefir, low-fat cookies.
Dinner: fried eggplant halves with onions and carrots, a bowl of seasonal berries, mint tea.

The fourth day

Breakfast: pomegranate juice, pumpkin-zucchini pancakes.
Lunch: broccoli and cauliflower soup, asparagus stew with rice and chicken fillet.
Snacks: low-fat cottage cheese with the addition of yogurt, oatmeal cookies.
Dinner: stewed white cabbage with carrots and onions, any fruit of your choice, currant compote.

The fifth day

Breakfast: apple juice, porridge from cereal mixture.
Lunch: two fish cutlets, mashed potatoes without added milk and with a small piece of butter.
Afternoon snack: a cup of low-fat kefir, green apple.
Dinner: asparagus and green pea soup, weak tea.

The sixth day

Breakfast: chicory drink, non-fat cottage cheese with honey.
Lunch: boiled turkey breast with zucchini and pumpkin puree, orange juice.
Afternoon snacks: oatmeal pudding, multi-grain bread.
Dinner: two cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and vegetables, mineral water.

The seventh day

Breakfast: a piece of curd casserole with raisins and chicory.
Lunch: 2 lentil and carrot cutlets, rice.
Snack: 3 baked cheesecakes, orange juice.
Dinner: apples stuffed with cottage cheese and dried apricots, chamomile tea.

High cholesterol levels can be returned to normal by following the canons of this diet. Regularity and self-monitoring are very important to achieve results.

Intermittent fasting

Fasting is used to lower blood cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol with a diet full of hunger can be treated as follows: In the absence of food, the body begins to use low-density lipoprotein reserves to gain energy for life. After 12 hours of fasting, cholesterol, as an alternative energy source, begins to be released into the bloodstream and broken down to produce energy.

Approximate cholesterol starvation schedule for a week:

The first day - only freshly squeezed apple-carrot juice, diluted 1: 2. The second day you can drink the juice without diluting it with water. For lunch you can eat 50 g of grated carrots. In the third - drink grape-apple and carrot juice. Dine with a hundred grams of vegetable puree, but before going to bed - kefir.

On the fourth and fifth day, add grated vegetables and fruits, and at night - light cottage cheese. On the sixth and seventh day, breakfast should consist of grated vegetables and fruits, and for dinner and lunch eat overripe buckwheat or millet cereals. Such a strict diet can be carried out only after consulting a doctor and under the supervision of a doctor. Therapeutic fasting should be repeated periodically to control high cholesterol.

It is not easy to choose the optimal diet for high cholesterol - it is necessary to study in detail all the characteristics of a particular person's body. It is very important to take into account the accompanying diseases, gender, age. Only a well-designed menu is effective in preventing the severe consequences of hypercholesterolaemia.