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A sample diet to lower cholesterol is important to determine how your body will respond to various cholesterol-lowering techniques suggested by experts. Basically, a sample diet to lower cholesterol involves avoiding certain foods while increasing the intake of others. Combining these techniques can lead to significant decreases in blood cholesterol levels, even reaching up to 20%.
1. Breakfast
A good breakfast for your sample diet to lower cholesterol should include oatmeal or oat bran and fruits. You can alternate it with cereal and low-fat milk or whole grain products, such as wheat bread. If you use butter or margarine, you may want to replace it with sterol-fortified margarine, instead. For the drinks, you can take sterol-fortified juices, skim milk or water. Vitamin supplement may also be taken in the morning.
2, Lunch
Your lunch for a sample diet to lower cholesterol should include the fatty fish, such as tuna, mackerel or salmon, which is broiled, steamed or grilled. It can be alternated with lean meat, with fat less than 10%, or skinned poultry. These must be prepared with minimal cooking oil, such as canola oil. You may opt to combine them with rice or whole grain bread, and vegetables. Fresh or canned fruits, or low-fat yogurt, may be taken for dessert.
3. Snacks
Health snacks that you can include in your sample diet to lower cholesterol include unsalted nuts, such as walnuts and almonds, and seeds, such as sunflower seed. Soy products, such as soy burger, are also healthy alternatives for regular snacks.
4. Dinner
Dinner for a sample diet to lower cholesterol should be somewhat similar to lunch. You can start off with a low-calorie salad combined with a low-fat dressing. You can then alternate between fish, lean meat and skinned poultry. Experts recommend at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
This is an overview of what a sample diet to lower cholesterol should contain. Knowing the principle behind the diet is the most important thing. This enables you to alter your diet and give variety to it.
# Increase the consumption of fish fats (mackerel, salmon, herringand tuna fish), because they contain omega 3 fat acids, which preventthe piling of plates on arteries and protect blood from coagulation.
# Include the garlic in your diet, because it protects blood vessels from the bad (LDL) cholesterol.
# Assure yourselves that the food you take in is rich inantioxidants and nutrients - including Vitamin C, beta carotene(vitamin A), vitamin E and selenium. They can be mostly found in driedplums and some other dried fruits, as well as in fresh fruit andvegetables. They prevent the precipitation of the "bad" cholesterol inblood vessels.
# Drink 2-3 liters of water daily, because water help for theincrease of fibers in food. Fibers stimulate the production of the"good" cholesterol, and beside that, body absorbs fats faster.
# Don't eat saturated fat acids (animal fats), because theyaccelerate the process of production of "bad" cholesterol. It is notnecessary to exclude them completely from your menu, but restrict theiramount and always consume them with fibers and water, preferably (forexample cheese with whole - grain bread and a glass of water).
# Increase the amount of unsaturated fats, because a diet, rich inthose components prevents from cardiovascular diseases, some kinds ofcancer, and is a precondition for a long life (olive oil, almonds,unrefined oils and nuts). Eat food rich in soya (soya milk etc.),because it keeps organism from cardiovascular diseases, decreases bloodpressure and the level of the "bad" cholesterol.
# Decrease the use of food which decreases the level of the "good"cholesterol. Firstly, these are the margarines and fats for cooking(exception is only the olive oil). Part of the vegetable fats, forexample the sunflower oil (in which polyunsaturated fats) when warmed,produces fat acids.
# Drink one - two glasses of wine or beer daily, because they arerich in antioxidants and help for the production of "good" cholesterol,and for blood vessels - to not retain "bad" cholesterol.
Follow this regime regularly to decrease the level of cholesterol in blood.