If you have to watch your cholesterol levels or even lower them, you can influence your cholesterol levels with physical activity and a balanced diet. Here we give you tips on a low-cholesterol diet.
Things to know about cholesterol
Cholesterol is a vital, fat-like substance, about 90% of which is formed in the body and 10% is ingested through food. Cholesterol is also commonly referred to as “blood fat”. Cholesterol levels can be determined with a blood test. In a healthy adult, total cholesterol should not exceed 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood. The following causes lead to an increased cholesterol level and its consequences:
- underlying diseases
- high-cholesterol diet
- promotes vascular diseases (hardening of the arteries)
- increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke
Eating a balanced, healthy diet can help prevent cardiovascular disease. Eating a low-cholesterol diet means:
- Switching from a high-fat to a high-fiber diet
- ensures that less fat is absorbed by the body
- absorb fats in the digestive tract
- Ballast is then excreted almost undigested
If you want to eat healthily with low-cholesterol foods, at least 50 percent of the total fat content should consist of unsaturated fats. Animal fats, like butter and lard, are high in cholesterol and saturated fat. You are unhealthy. Replace them with foods low in cholesterol and unsaturated fats, such as B. vegetable oils. Here you can find out which foods are suitable for a low-cholesterol diet.
Beverages
low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- unsweetened fruit – juices lemonades
- natural vegetable – juice smoothies
- Water-sweetened – fruit juices
- Filter coffee – nectars
- Malt coffee – beverages containing cocoa
- tea – alcohol
Bread And Baked Goods
low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- dark bread – white bread
- dark bread – rolls cream cakes
- Wholemeal – cream cakes
- Yeast pastries – Puff pastries
Meat and sausage
low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- Veal – offal (liver, kidneys, brain)
- Poultry skinless – duck
- wild – goose
- lean beef – salami
- raw and cooked ham – Teewurst
- Turkey ham – Mettwurst
- Poultry roast liver – sausage
- Corned beef black – pudding
- cold roast – cold cuts
Note: You can eat lean sausage with a fat content of no more than 20% without hesitation. Poultry, veal, and ham are also low in cholesterol when prepared as jelly. Sausages with more than 20% fat content are not considered low-cholesterol foods.
Fish And Seafood
low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- Saithe – Eel
- Sole – mackerel
- cod – herring
- Flounder – anchovies
- Walleye – tuna
- Pike breaded – fish
- Codfish – salads
- Place – smoked fish
- Redfish – Seafood
- Trout – crustaceans (e.g. crabs, mussels, lobsters, crayfish)
Note: Cholesterol is higher in shellfish and crustaceans. Therefore, you should only eat a little of it or avoid it altogether.
Fruits, vegetables, and legumes
- low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- Salads – of creamed vegetables with sauces or dressings
- Vegetables (raw, stewed, grilled) – fruit compote
- fresh fruit – olives
Note: Tomatoes should be eaten heated, otherwise our body cannot absorb the cholesterol-lowering pigment they contain. Meanwhile, garlic and ginger, as low-cholesterol foods, are particularly good for lowering cholesterol levels.
Milk, Dairy Products, and Eggs
low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- Milk with a fat content of 1.5% – Milk and milk products with a full and semi-fat level
- Buttermilk – coffee cream
- skim – milk cream
- Kefir – sour cream
- Low-fat quark – whipped cream
- low-fat yogurt – cream yogurt
- Cottage cheese – crème fraîche
- Cheese types with a fat content of up to 30% – sour cream
Note: Eggs in moderation, i. H. 2 to 3 pieces per week are harmless. But you shouldn’t eat more than 5 eggs a week.
Spreads, confectionery, and snacks
low-cholesterol foods unsuitable foods
- jam – ice cream
- Jelly – milk chocolate
- sweetener – marzipan
- honey – chocolates
- Fruit Gum – Chips
- Licorice – Peanut Flips
- pretzel sticks – sugar
- Salty Biscuit – Syrup
- Russian bread – chocolate cream
- walnuts – nut cream
Tip: If you like to eat chocolate and don’t want to do without it, the cocoa content in the chocolate should be at least 70%. The darker the chocolate, the better it affects cholesterol levels.
Fats, oils, and spices
low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- sunflower oil – butter
- Pumpkin oil clarified – butter
- Rapeseed – table oil
- Linseed oil – Cooking oil
- Soybean – oil lard
- sesame oil – coconut fat
- walnut oil – palm kernel oil
- Safflower oil – mayonnaise
- Olive oil – remoulade
Pasta, cereals, and cereal products
low-cholesterol foods unsuitable foods
- Buckwheat – egg pasta
- wheat – dumplings
- Rye – sweetened muesli
Miscellaneous
low-cholesterol foods – unsuitable foods
- Potatoes as boiled potatoes, jacket potatoes – fried potatoes
- Mashed potatoes with low-fat milk – potato pancakes
- clear meat – broth potato salad
- Vegetable – broth dumplings
- Tomato paste – gratin
- Tofu – pizza
- Soy products – sauce thickeners