High cholesterol levels are a signal to take care of ourselves and avoid possible problems that derive from this symptom. Improving our eating habits is the first step to achieve, since a proper diet can prevent problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular or brain problems.
To control high cholesterol, the first step is to change some habits that aggravate it, especially in the case of overweight people. It is recommended to avoid tobacco, reduce alcohol intake and play sports daily. Regarding food, we offer you some tips to have a healthier diet.
Diet to control cholesterol
First of all we must control the daily intake of fats. It is recommended to avoid saturated fats present in foods such as fatty meats, sausages or dairy products, which favor the deposit of cholesterol in the arteries. Instead they can be replaced by monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which provide omega 3 , and are found in oily fish, olive oil and dried fruits such as walnuts.
There are other foods that, despite being low in fat, can contain high levels of cholesterol, such as shellfish, organ meats or eggs, so we must moderate their consumption, limiting cholesterol intake to 300 mg daily. You can replace these foods with vegetable proteins from vegetables and fruits, of which it is recommended to consume several servings a day accompanied by whole carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, legumes…) and avoid sugars as much as possible.
Taking all these characteristics into account, a suitable menu to reduce cholesterol could be the following: For breakfast, skimmed milk or yogurt with whole meal toast with ham and olive oil, for lunch a salad and rice or pasta with chicken, and a dessert fruit. For dinner, soup or vegetable cream with fish or tortilla, a slice of whole meal bread and yogurt. To snack between meals we can use fruit, yogurt or dried fruit.
