Diet for high cholesterol that works

Often, a special diet for high cholesterol is all you need in order to lower your cholesterol levels. Though it doesn't work for everyone, it is the first intervention you should take when excessive cholesterol levels are affecting your health; after all, diet and high cholesterol are very closely related.

Before you go on a diet for high cholesterol, you need to assess your current diet. How much fat do you eat on a daily basis? Do you try to follow the FDA new food pyramid guidelines? Do you buy white or wheat breads? Do you often have to eat on the run? If you already have a healthy diet, more exercise may help, or you may need to talk to your doctor.

If you do need to make serious changes, build your high cholesterol diet plan around the food pyramid. Every day, you should eat the following: 6-11 servings of breads and grains; 3-5 servings of fruit; 4-6 servings of vegetables; 2-3 servings of meats or other proteins; 2-3 servings of dairy; and minimal fats, oils, and sugars. Learn what a serving size should be (hint - restaurants have no clue). Also, avoid any food high in cholesterol; these are primarily those with hard fats, like red meat, butter, lard, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Fry less, and when you do, use canola oil.

Don't do more than this for a week or so; if your cholesterol is so high it can't wait, then your doctor needs to put you on a statin! Once you're used to eating this way, you can start eating foods that lower cholesterol. Start by adding a handful of tree nuts every day. A single handful of walnuts, almonds, or Brazil nuts lowers cholesterol, in some cases by as much as 20%. Also add to your diet for high cholesterol one meal that includes oatmeal in some manner. Do it in a straightforward manner, like a hot oatmeal breakfast, or sneak it in by adding it to ground beef dishes or using 12-grain bread instead of whole wheat.

After a couple weeks of this, check your cholesterol level again. If your diet to lower high cholesterol is working properly, you should see a significant difference However, if your cholesterol is still over 200, you still need to work on it. If and only if your cholesterol isn't responding well enough, you can start adding a food that includes plant sterols, added primarily to certain margarines. Sterols are similar to cholesterol drugs in that they block the absorption of cholesterol into the body.

While you're changing your diet to control high cholesterol, you should also add an exercise regimen to your daily routine. A half-hour of exercise each day in addition to your healthy diet for high cholesterol will often be enough to lower your cholesterol significantly.

While most people think soy products are essential to any diet for high cholesterol, recent studies indicate that soy has no impact on high cholesterol at all. Because many people are sensitive to soy, it's better to avoid it unless you have some other reason to add soy to your diet, such as lactose intolerance.

Always use diet for high cholesterol before using drugs. In most cases, a diet for people with high cholesterol is more effective than drugs.