Foods that help reduce cholesterol?

@wiccania (3360)
United States
July 8, 2007 3:38pm CST
My mom was recently diagnosed as having high cholesterol. The doctor wants her to try diet changes to help lower it before going to meds (as she also has high blood pressure). Not a bad idea, except he failed to give her any information on what foods could be helpful in that regard. I was wondering if any of y'all know of foods that help reduce cholesterol (besides oatmeal and cheerios).
2 people like this
8 responses
@KatieS (503)
• United States
8 Jul 07
Dr told my husband a few years ago his cholesterol was high. He makes eggs, sausage, & hasbrowns every morning for breakfast and he used a lot of vegetable oil to cook it in. When the Dr told him about high cholesterol, he started using canola oil and/or cooking spray and his cholesterol went back to normal in no time. I'm not sure if this helps, but greasy foods are bad, I know that much.
@stealthy (8181)
• United States
8 Jul 07
I tend toward high cholesterol but not high blood pressure. One thing that I think helps me is to eat fish and the way I do it is with canned salmon which I like and since I don't like fish in general. I would have much more success if I didn't over eat on milk chocolate. Exercise also helps to make eating the right things work better.
2 people like this
@wdiong (1815)
• Singapore
21 Jul 07
Food your mom should avoid or limit: Fatty meats but if you do eat them cut off all the visible fat. Sausages, goose and duck. Pies and pastries. Fat or oil in cooking. Prawns, shrimp and fish roe. Fried foods Dairy products such as full milk, cream, cheese, butter and ice cream. Egg yolks, limit to 2 a week. Cakes, crisps, biscuits, sweets and chocolate. Try to grill or steam meats instead of frying or roasting but if you do roast, place meat on a rack to allow the fat to drain off. When frying choose a vegetable oil, such as sunflower.
@matte5 (1913)
• Sweden
8 Jul 07
Hello. I hawe high cholesterol and before i sart with med i use oliv oil to fry and no eggsand boiled food its better then friedand try to it weg and fish ofcurse. But the best thing to do is speak to a dietist they can realy help with this problem. Hawe a nice day.
@ayy321 (44)
• United States
9 Jul 07
Orange juice helps
@woaking (146)
• United States
9 Jul 07
Hey yes tropical fruit help to reduce cholesterol, the other way is exercising the body and not eating too much things that have cholesterol.
• United States
21 Jul 07
I personally like butter and dislike margerines. With their hydrogenated and transfatty acids they are worse cholesterol than butter. However, in the interests of health I discovered a brand called Smart Balance that is a blend of oils including omega fatty acids and olive oil that is supposed to promote healthy cholesterol and reduce the bad. I use the light version versus the regular, about 45 calories/1 tbsp. They make other products, too. And vegetarian/soy products are great with their soy content and many have good flavor, texture, are very filling, good fiber, and can be grilled quite successfully for increased flavor. Most grocery stores carry lines like Morningstar or Boca. Their chick patties, sausages, brats, are very good.. much better than wondering what is in processed meats. The best thing is to eliminate as much as possible refined flours, grains and sugar. Processed simple carboydrates greatly increase cholesteral and often aren't paid attention to because people focus on fat where cholesteral is concerned.
@kelly60 (4547)
• United States
8 Jul 07
Her doctor should have given her some sort of a diet to follow, but doctors don't always remember to do this. They did the same thing to me. Anyway, adding foods that reduce cholesterol isn't the only way to reduce your cholesterol with your diet. Just making lower fat food choices in general should help to avoid adding cholesterol. Read food labels, and try to cut down on those with high cholesterol content.
@woaking (146)
• United States
8 Jul 07
the apple , orange, and all green vegetable