cholesterol reducing?

[LittleBit84]

Hubs came back from work today and he was like "I had a physical and they said I needed to drop my cholesterol by August or I go on medication "

Good news: he's willing to sub white meat for our normal red meat

Bad news: we're ****ing BROKE (til Friday) and all we have at this current moment as far as white meat is chicken breast cutlets.

I need two recipes for tonight and tomorrow involving chicken breast and carrots, maybe instant mashed taters. Grilling is out of the question for tonight because we have no charcoal. He ate all the rest of his baggie salads yesterday.

When we get paid on Friday, we'll be going shopping for white meat and some more veggies.

Ideas for cholesterol reduction, please? :3

[CoffeeGirl]

Here are the top 10 cholesterol reducing foods---

Apples: Apple pectin is a soluble fiber that helps draw cholesterol out of the system. The flavonoids (Quercetin) in apples act as a powerful anti-oxidant that seems to short-circuit the process that leads “bad” LDL cholesterol to accumulate in the bloodstream.

Beans: Beans and vegetables are an excellent source of soluble fiber and high in vegetable protein. By properly combing beans with brown rice, seeds, corn, wheat you can create a complete protein. Properly combined beans become an excellent substitute for red meat protein that is high in saturated fat.

Brown Rice: The oil in whole brown rice, not its fiber, lowers cholesterol. Brown rice can be combined with beans to form an inexpensive complete protein low in saturated fat. In addition, this whole grain also supplies good doses of heart-healthy fiber, magnesium and B vitamins.

Cinnamon: A study published in the journal Diabetes Care found that half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It also reduces triglyceride, LDL, the bad cholesterol and the total cholesterol level.

Garlic: Garlic contains the chemical allicin, which has been shown to kill bacteria and fungi, and alleviate certain digestive disorders. It also lowers the blood clotting properties of blood. But the most notable attention garlic has received over recent years is its possible usefulness in lowering cholesterol levels.

Grapes: Flavonoids in grapes protect LDL cholesterol from free radical damage and reduce platelet clumping. The LDL lowering effect of grapes comes from a compound that grapes produce normally to resist mold. The darker the grape, the better.

Oats: Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad” cholesterol. Five to 10 grams of soluble fiber a day decreases LDL cholesterol by about 5 percent. Eating 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal provides 4.5 grams of fiber — enough to lower your cholesterol.
Salmon: The major health components in salmon include: Omega 3 fatty-acid and protein. These components have a favorable cardiovascular effect. The American Heart Association recommends that people include at least two servings of fish/week, particularly fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, anchovies and herring), in their diets.

Soy: The top health promoting components in soybeans are isoflavones and soluble fiber. Isoflavones act like human hormone that can lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. All soy products (soybeans, soy nuts, tofu, tempeh, soy milk, etc.) are complete proteins.

Walnuts: Walnuts can significantly reduce blood cholesterol because they are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Walnuts also help keep blood vessels healthy and elastic. Almonds appear to have a similar effect, resulting in a marked improvement within just four weeks. A cholesterol-lowering diet with a little less than 1/3 of a cup of walnuts/day may reduce LDL cholesterol by 12 percent.

[CoffeeGirl]

Cholesterol lowering food tip #1. Sandwich's are good to eat for lunch or when you're in a rush. Use whole wheat bread or a pita with some either lean turkey, chicken, tuna or most other fish along with vegetables.

Please avoid high cholesterol, processed meats such as hot dogs, bologna, and salami. Some condiments are ok to add to your sandwich, but avoid mayo.

Cholesterol lowering food tip #2. As part of a good diet to lower cholesterol eat fish such as salmon. The wild red salmon varieties are better and healthier for you because they contain high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids (also known as Essential Fatty Acids - EFA).

If you can't find a good source of salmon use an EFA supplement. These come as flax seed oil, fish oil or a combination of both.

Cholesterol lowering food tip #3. Look at food labels and stay away from all foods containing Trans fats. Trans fats will increase the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood stream and decrease the good HDL cholesterol.

Foods that contain trans fats include margarine, vegetable shortening, most processed foods, some types of peanut butter and foods that contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

Cholesterol lowering food tip #4. Feel free to occasionally snack on different varieties of nuts. The best are walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, and pecans. While it's true that most nuts are high in fat, they contain good fat that your body needs.

Cholesterol lowering food tip #5. Even though it's very tough for most people, try to keep a tight rein on the amount of desserts you eat each week. If you absolutely must have a desert after a meal try to eat only healthier ones such as angel food cake, graham crackers, Jell-O, and yogurt.

Cholesterol lowering food tip #6. Include high fiber foods in your diet to lower cholesterol. Some good choices include whole wheat bread, oatmeal (not the high sugar flavored type), fruit, vegetables, beans, and certain cereals.

Cholesterol lowering food tip #7. Always eat lean meat and use a grill or a barbeque to cook them. This way the harmful grease will just fall away.

Cholesterol lowering tip #8. Salads are good, but most salad dressings, bacon bits, croutons, etc. aren't. Try to use olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice.

Cholesterol lowering tip #9. As far as a diet to lower cholesterol is concerned, most fruits and vegetables being high in nutrients and antioxidants are very good.

The best are: green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, oranges, mangos, papaya, pineapple, tomato, garlic, onions, spinach, water chestnuts, bananas, apricots, blueberries, and kiwi.

Cholesterol lowering tip #10. Fast foods and fast food restaurants should be avoided at all times. Yes a lot of burger joints are now offering "healthier" choices but why get tempted?

As mentioned earlier in this article there are many other ways to lower your cholesterol, but sticking to a diet to lower cholesterol is a very good place to start.

[~Stephie~]

With the chicken breast...

Cook it in the skillet or in a baking dish in the oven with some lemon and pepper. You can use olive oil or saflower oil (less fat and has MUFA's... help burn belly fat which is where the bad fat lives). You can do mashed taters and include some garlic in them. Rosemary and some light sour cream are good ways to flavor up the taters!!!
RAW cauliflower is better than cooked... but that goes for ALL veggies! You save a lot of the nutrients when you don't heat them up!!!

Another meal.... take some bbq sauce.. NOT a lot and smother it on the chicken and bake it. Have some corn on the side!! As long as you don't use too much bbq sauce you'll be ok!!

[subgf]

i have pretty darn high cholesterol as well. the tips given above are excellent and agree with everything my doctor told me. my doctor also told me to get plenty of aerobic exercise along with eating the stuff mentioned above to help lower it.

oh, also cheerios are great.

one more thing, there are these "Promise Activ SuperShots" that you can find with the yogurt in the grocery store. they're like a cholesterol lowering yogurt fruit drink with plant sterols. i have one every morning with my oatmeal and they taste great.

he can do it, it just takes commitment and staying away from fast food, that's my weakness!

[Cat]

stay away from eggs. LOL they have to much cholesterol and they tell people that if you have high cholesterol to eat under 300 mg a day. one large egg has at least 200 mg of cholesterol. I cant remember the exact amount off the top of my head.

If you do eat red meat eat sirloin and extra lean ground beef. I have high cholesterol and so does my hubby and we are both on meds. Mine was higher than his.

For margarine we use Smart Balance Light with Flax Oil and its very good. For mayo we use Hellmans Light with Canola Oil.

[LittleBit84]

Yeah, we don't eat alot of eggs.

Funny thing though: his cholesterol is high, but his blood pressure is really low-- like: "are you still alive?!" low (same with mine).

[JubilantlyBlithe]

Increase fiber, whole grains, and exercise. Decrease Fats, and cholesterol. (Use Egg whites instead of the whole egg, limit butter)
Of course as always.. up the fruits and veggies

[TXspice]

Cheerios for sure!!...too easy and not so expensive.

Kidney beans are pretty inexpensive and high in soluble fiber which helps reduce the "bad" cholesterol. I put them in my tossed salads, of course chili.

Oatmeal is also high soluble fiber.

Also, fish and omega-3 fatty acids. Either an omega-3 supplement pill or two servings of fish each week. DH doesnt like seafood/fish so we take supplements. But if you go with fish, bake or grill it.

Almonds and walnuts! Supposedly can lead to marked reductions in as little as four weeks. But nuts have lots of calories so only a couple of ounces a day. Costco is a good place to get nuts. Toss them in salads such as chicken salad, broccoli salad, tossed.

Ground flax seeds. I have an awesome banana muffin recipe using flax seeds. Will dig it up tomorrow.

[shelbyisanurse]

look for some Mrs Dash seasonings at the store, i know you said your broke now though. they are awesome to add to chicken and veggies! Lemon pepper is the best! you can also get some pineapple juice or wine to merinade the chicken in. Mustard Chicken is good also.

The best way to bake chicken for me is to set the oven on 350 put the ck in a baking dish and cover with foil. bake for 35 min and then turn the chicken over, re cover and bake for another 35 min. its so tender!