High Cholesterol Foods: Great Tips To Avoid These Unhealthy Products

High Cholesterol Foods

High cholesterol foods may be high in flavor, taste and texture but these are also high in unhealthy substances including fats, sodium and bad cholesterol. Health complications like obesity, heart attack and strokes, diabetes, and depression, among others, have long been known to occur with a diet consisting of foods high in cholesterol. We can mention French fries, organ meats and ground beef as just a few of these kinds of high cholesterol food that must be eliminated to attain a healthier mind and body.
Unfortunately, switching to a healthier diet is often easier said than done. The siren call of a delicious buffet of high cholesterol foods is hard to resist but it is not entirely impossible with the following tips.

Start Gradually

Going cold turkey will leave anybody feeling, well, cold to the idea of a healthy diet filled with low cholesterol foods. You must slowly but surely adopt the recommended healthy diet changes in a gradual but confident manner. Your efforts will be well-rewarded since your palate will also gradually adapt to the changing tastes, textures and flavors of the food in the new diet.
For example, instead of frying eggs in hydrogenated oil, use olive oil instead. You will still have the great taste of sunny side-up eggs sans the high levels of cholesterol.

Plan Meals

If you are not in on the habit of planning meals, then this is the right time to do so. You can actually plan to keep out high cholesterol foods! With a planned menu for the week in hand, you can then shop for the healthier ingredients at the supermarket and grocery stores instead of being reeled into the junk food section. Just make sure that your shopping list will only contain the healthy food items necessary to prepare the dishes on the planned menu - no more, no less.

There are other benefits to planning healthy low-cholesterol menus for each week as well. Since you are sticking to a shopping list, you can avoid unnecessary purchases of snacks like chips, candy and soda. You will also be able to save money on leftovers and spoiled food on the pantry. These small savings on grocery bills can then add up to larger amounts so much so that saving $200 a month on food is possible.

Cut Out the Obvious

While planning meals, your first logical step will often be to cut out the obvious high cholesterol foods from the daily diet. Do you consume boxes of snacks like pretzels, chips, cookies and cakes? Do you like the fat on meat like beef, pork and poultry especially the skin? Do you love dressings and toppings on salads and crackers? Do you want fries with whatever is ordered on a fast-food menu? Do you need everything from fishes to doughnuts to be fried in deep oil?

Well, it is time to wean your mind and body of these unhealthy habits! Do so in a gradual manner as per the previously mentioned piece of advice.

You can:

Lessen the amount of pretzels, chips and cakes in your diet • Trim the fats on the meat and skip on the chicken skin. Better yet, go for the lean cuts of meat to avoid eating high cholesterol foods while still getting proteins.
Go for low-fat dressings - Add natural spices to the food to add flavor without layering on the salt • Experiment with other cooking methods like steaming, grilling and broiling • Skip on the side dishes like the gravy, cream and fries
You can also consider eating more home-cooked meals instead of ordering dishes from a restaurant that may use ingredients with high fat, sodium and cholesterol content. Like planning your meals, your savings on food bills will be substantial in the long run. Your savings on doctor visits and medications will also add up - Look, Ma, no more doctors to treat non-existent illnesses, thanks to the avoidance of high cholesterol foods.

Read Food Labels

But just because you are planning your meals, eating more home-cooked dishes and cutting out the obvious sources of cholesterol do not necessarily equal a healthy diet. You must also ensure that the ingredients used in home-cooked meals are of the healthy kind. Otherwise, your efforts will be for naught.

The trick then is to know how to read and understand nutrition labels on food products. These food labels are important guides in watching fat, sodium and cholesterol intake especially in cases when you are in doubt. No, you should not be taken in by the attractive but deceptive labels on the front of food products including "Low-fat", "low-sodium" and the like. Many high cholesterol foods are actually labeled in these terms.
Where cholesterol is concerned, you should limit consumption of cholesterol to just 300 milligrams or less daily. This amount is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Go for Low Fat Substitutes

Now, don't despair about not being able to enjoy your favorite food items when you are on a low-fat, low-cholesterol and low-sodium diet. The food industry has recognized the increasing awareness for healthier alternatives in store-bought food items and, thus, continues to develop low-fat substitutes. You should take advantage of these alternatives.

But you must also beware as a few of these low-fat alternatives to high cholesterol foods contain higher carbohydrate contents. You should balance the need to control both carbohydrate and cholesterol content since both are essential in the maintenance of health but only when consumed in moderate quantities.  Keep in mind that higher carbohydrate content in your diet can raise triglyceride levels that, in turn, increase bad cholesterol levels in the blood.

If you cannot find low-fat substitutes, then just find a suitable substitute. For example, instead of getting chips and soda as snacks from the vending machine in the office corridor, bring your own healthy snack items like a handful of almonds and fresh orange juice.

It is possible to lessen, if not completely eliminate, the consumption of high cholesterol foods on your diet. Proper planning, personal willpower and perhaps professional assistance from a dietitian will make the achievement of this goal easier.