cholesterol free cooking

[Fifi]

Hi, salam. My husband needs to change over to a cholesterol free or low cholesterol diet. He likes interesting flavorful food as well as indian food. Can you please help me create a menu/ meal plan for this type of cooking. Thank you.

[Faaizah Asmal Dietician]

Hi.
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in the walls of cells in all parts of the body, from the nervous system to the liver to the heart. The body uses cholesterol to make hormones, bile acids, vitamin D, and other substances. The body makes all the cholesterol it needs. Cholesterol circulates in the bloodstream but cannot travel by itself. As with oil and water, cholesterol (which is fatty) and blood (which is watery) do not mix. So cholesterol travels in packages called lipoproteins, which have fat (lipid) inside and protein outside.Two main kinds of lipoproteins carry cholesterol in the blood:
■ Low density lipoprotein, or LDL, which also is called the “bad” cholesterol because it carries cholesterol to tissues, including the arteries. Most of the cholesterol in the blood is the LDL form. The higher the level of LDL cholesterol in the blood, the greater your risk for heart disease.
■ High density lipoprotein, or HDL, which also is called the “good” cholesterol because it takes cholesterol from tissues to the liver, which removes it from the body. A low level of HDL cholesterol increases your risk for heart disease
What Affects Cholesterol Levels?
Various factors can cause unhealthy cholesterol levels. Some of the factors cannot be changed but most can be modified. The factors are:
Those you cannot change—
■ Heredity. The amount of LDL cholesterol your body makes and how fast it is removed from your body is determined partly by genes. High blood cholesterol can run in families. However, very few people are stuck with a high cholesterol just by heredity —and everyone can take action to lower their cholesterol. Furthermore, even if high cholesterol does not run in your family, you can still develop it. High cholesterol is a common condition among Americans, even young persons, and even those with no family history of it.
■ Age and sex. Blood cholesterol begins to rise around age 20 and continues to go up until about age 60 or 65. Before age 50, men’s total cholesterol levels tend to be higher than those of women of the same age—after age 50, the opposite happens. That’s because with menopause, women’s LDL levels often rise.
Those under your control—
■ Diet. Three nutrients in your diet make LDL levels rise:
• Saturated fat, a type of fat found mostly in foods that come from animals;
• Trans fat, found mostly in foods made with hydrogenated oilsand fats such as stick margarine, crackers,and french fries; and
• Cholesterol, which comes only from animal products.
■ Overweight. Excess weight tends to increase your LDL level. Also, it typically raises triglycerides, a fatty substance in the blood and in food, and lowers HDL. Losing the extra kilograms may help lower your LDL and triglycerides, while raising your HDL.
■ Physical inactivity. Being physically inactive contributes to overweight and can raise LDL and lower HDL. Regular physical activity can raise HDL and lower triglycerides, and can help you lose weight and, in that way, help lower your LDL.


Fat is a nutrient that helps the body function in various ways: For example, it supplies the body with energy. It also helps other nutrients work. But the body needs only small amounts of fat, and too much of the saturated type will increase cholesterol in the blood.
There are different types of fat, and they have different effects on cholesterol and heart disease risk. Here’s a quick rundown:
● Saturated fat. This fat is usually solid at room and refrigerator temperatures. It is found in greatest amounts in foods from animals, such as fatty cuts of meat, poultry with the skin, whole-milk dairy products, and lard, as well as in some vegetable oils, including coconut and palm oils.
Studies show that too much saturated fat in the diet leads to higher LDL levels. Populations that tend to eat more saturated fat have higher cholesterol levels and more heart disease than those with lower intakes. Reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet is a very effective way to lower LDL.
● Unsaturated fat. This fat is usually liquid at room and refrigerator temperatures. Unsaturated fat occurs in vegetable oils, most nuts, olives, avocados, and fatty fish, such as salmon.There are types of unsaturated fat—monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. When used instead of saturated fat, mono- unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help lower blood cholesterol levels. Monounsaturated fat is found in greatest amounts in foods from plants, including olive, canola, sunflower, and peanut oils. Polyunsaturated fat is found in greatest amounts in foods from plants, including safflower, sunflower, corn, soybean, and cottonseed oils, and many kinds of nuts.
A type of polyunsaturated fat is called omega-3 fatty acids. Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are some fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel.
● Trans fat. Also called trans fatty acids, it tends to raise blood cholesterol similarly to saturated fat. Trans fat is found mainly in foods made with hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as many hard margarines and shortenings. The harder the margarine or shortening, the more likely it is to contain more trans fat.
● Total fat. This is the sum of saturated, trans, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats in food. Foods have a varying mix of these types. The types of fat you eat have more to do with your LDL level than the total fat you take in.
- Cholesterol: The cholesterol in your diet raises the cholesterol level in your blood—but not as much as saturated fat. However, the two often are found in the same foods. So by limiting your intake of foods rich in saturated fat, you’ll also help reduce your intake of cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol comes only from foods of animal origin, such as liver and other organ meats; egg yolks (but not the whites, which have no cholesterol); shrimp; and whole milk dairy products, including butter, cream, and cheese.

Fiber: There are two main types of fiber—insoluble and soluble (also called “viscous”). Both have health benefits but only soluble fiber reduces the risk of heart disease. It does that by helping to lower LDL cholesterol.
The difference between the two types is how they go through the digestive tract. Insoluble fiber goes through it largely undissolved. It’s also called “roughage” and helps the colon function properly. It’s found in many whole-grain foods, fruits (with the skins), vegetables, and legumes (such as dry beans and peas).
Soluble fiber dissolves into a gel-like substance in the intestines. The substance helps to block cholesterol and fats from being absorbed through the wall of the intestines into the blood stream. Research shows that people who increased their soluble fiber intake by 5–10 grams each day had about a 5 percent drop in their LDL cholesterol.
Foods high in fiber can help reduce your risk of heart disease. It’s also good for your digestive tract and for overall health. Further, eating foods rich in fiber can help you feel full on fewer calories, which makes it a good food choice if you need to lose weight.
--How can you add soluble fiber to your diet? It’s easy. Here are some quick tips:
- Choose hot or cold breakfast cereals such as oatmeal and oatbran that have 3–4 grams of fiber per serving.
- Add a banana, peach, apple, berries, or other fruit to your cereal.
- Eat the whole fruit instead of, or in addition to, drinking its juice—one orange has six times more fiber than one glass of orange juice.
- Add black, kidney, white, italian, or other beans, or lentils to salads.
- Snack on a fruit instead of a packet of chips or chocolates
- Add a salad or soup to your meal instead of french fries
- Whole-grain breads and cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes, low-fat crackers, and low-fat biscuits or rusks (keep these to 1 a day)

Eating the healthy way doesn’t mean depriving yourself of snacks and treats. Try these low-saturated fat munchies and desserts— but keep track of the calories:
Snacks
● Fresh or frozen fruits
● Fresh vegetables
● Pretzels
● Popcorn (air popped or cooked in small amounts of vegetable oil and without added butter or salt)
● Low-fat or fat-free crackers (such as whole grain or oat crackers, fig and other fruit bars, ginger snaps, and molasses cookies)
● Graham crackers
● Rye crisp
Desserts and sweets
● Fresh or frozen fruits
● Low-fat or fat-free fruit yogurt
● Frozen low-fat or fat-free yogurt
● Low-fat ice cream
● Fruit ices
● Sherbet
● Angel food cake (made with egg whites only)
● Low calorie jelly
● Baked goods, such as cookies, cakes, and pies with pie crusts, made with unsaturated oil or soft margarines, egg whites or egg substitutes, and fat-free milk
● Candies with little or no fat, such as hard candy, gumdrops, jelly beans, and candy corn

Choose fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or non- fat dairy products, fish, poultry without the skin, and, in moderate amounts, lean meats.

[Faaizah Asmal Dietician]

How to Make Heart Healthy Meals
Eating heart healthy meals doesn’t mean giving up on taste. Here are some tips on how to make “health” a special ingredient in your recipes:
Cooking Methods
● Use low-fat methods and remember not to add butter or high- fat sauces—Bake, broil, microwave, roast, steam, poach, lightly stir fry or sauté in cooking spray, small amount of vegetable oil, or reduced sodium broth, grill seafood, chicken, or vegetables.
● Use a nonstick (without added fat) or regular (with small amount of fat) pan.
● Chill soups and stews for several hours and remove congealed fat.
● Limit salt in preparing stews, soups, and other dishes—use
spices and herbs to make dishes tasty.
Milk/Cream/Sour Cream
● Cook with low-fat or fat-free types of milk or of evaporated milk, instead of whole milk or cream.
● Instead of sour cream, blend 1 cup low-fat, unsalted cottage cheese with 1 tablespoon fat-free milk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or substitute fat-free or low-fat sour cream or yogurt.
Spices/Flavorings
● Use a variety of herbs and spices in place of salt.
● Use low-sodium bouillon and broths, instead of regular bouil- lons and broths.
● Use a small amount of skinless smoked turkey breast instead of fatback to lower fat content but keep taste.
● Use skinless chicken thighs, instead of neck bones.
Oils/Butter
● Use cooking oil spray to lower fat and calories.
● Use a small amount of vegetable oil, instead of lard, butter, or
other fats that are hard at room temperature.
● In general, diet margarines are not well suited for baking—
instead, to cut saturated fat, use regular soft margarine made
with vegetable oil.
● Choose margarine that lists liquid vegetable oil as the first
ingredient on the food label and is low in saturated fat and low in or free of trans fat.