Regain Your Health with Cholesterol Diet

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol, which is a type of lipid, that is, fat, is an unpleasant and odorless substance that should be present in every person. Cholesterol is transported in the blood by substances called lipoproteins, and the place where it is most present in the body is the blood and cell membranes. Cholesterol is needed in the structure of cell membranes, hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, vitamin D production, and bile acid formation. It can be taken externally and synthesized in the body by the liver. Animal foods such as meat, milk, butter, and various fats contain cholesterol. There are no vegetable sources such as vegetables and fruits.

Keeping cholesterol in the blood at normal levels is important for metabolic events. Although it should be normal in the blood, it can rise due to many hereditary and environmental factors. A high level of it in the blood can cause cholesterol to accumulate in the vessels. This condition can increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and heart attack.

What Are the Types of Cholesterol?

It is found as a type of lipid in our body; it is divided into benign (HDL) cholesterol and malignant (LDL) cholesterol.

Malignant (LDL) cholesterol: LDL is a lipoprotein that carries cholesterol into the artery vessel. In other words, it allows the cholesterol produced in the liver to be transported to the cells. If the amount carried is more than necessary, it can accumulate in the cell walls, causing narrowing and blockage of the vessels. This condition can cause many health problems, especially cardiovascular diseases. It also increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Since the main cause of health problems is high LDL cholesterol, the main goal of treatment is to lower LDL, which is high.
Factors that increase LDL cholesterol levels:

Use of cigarettes
The presence of hypertension
The level of HDL is less than 40 mg/dl
The presence of cardiovascular diseases in first-degree relatives
Being over the age of 45 in men and over the age of 55 in women
Good-natured (HDL) cholesterol is a type of cholesterol that is not used in the cell wall or is a waste substance responsible for transporting excess cholesterol back to the liver. A high HDL cholesterol level is important for maintaining cardiovascular health and preventing vascular blockage. Cigarette consumption and obesity are among the factors that decelerate HDL levels, while exercise is among the factors that increase it.
What is Triglyceride?
Triglycerides are energy stores in the body that can be produced in the liver and taken from the outside with nutrients. A high level of it in the blood can adversely affect cardiovascular health. But this effect does not happen as much as cholesterol height. Hereditary and environmental factors can determine its level in the blood. At the same time, the nutrients consumed also affect triglyceride levels. Being above the ideal body weight and a fatty eating style affect the high level of triglycerides.

How Should Cholesterol Values Be?

Blood test results are checked to measure cholesterol levels. For the nutrients consumed before the analysis not to affect the blood measurement values, it is recommended to take a blood test after 12 hours of fasting.

BLOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVEL
<200 mg/dl is Normal
200-239 mg/dl Slightly elevated
≥240 mg/dl High
THE LEVEL OF TRIGLYCERIDES
<200 mg/dl is Normal
200-400 mg/dl Borderline high
>400 mg/dl High
THE LEVEL OF BAD CHOLESTEROL (LDL)
<100 mg/dl is Normal
100-129 mg/dl Borderline High
130-159 mg/dl Slightly elevated
≥160 mg/dl High
GOOD CHOLESTEROL (HDL) LEVEL
<40 mg/dl is Low
>60 mg/dl High

What Are the Symptoms of Cholesterol?

The most scientific sign of high cholesterol can be high blood cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride levels in the blood. But if a blood test has not been taken and cholesterol levels are suspected, there are other symptoms.

The greatest effect of cholesterol is that it can cause vasoconstriction as a result of its accumulation in the vessels. Narrowing of the vessels leading to the heart, brain, and legs may occur, and blood flow may decrease. This condition can cause chest pain, headaches, and heaviness in the legs. The formation of yellow spots, especially around the eyes and elsewhere on the skin, is also among the symptoms of cholesterol dec.

What Are the Causes of High Cholesterol?

An unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, and body weight well above the ideal weight can be considered among the most obvious causes of cholesterol dec.
The type of food consumed and the frequent alcohol consumption are also among the reasons dec cholesterol is high.
Excessive consumption of red meat, sausages, salami, sausages, whole cheeses, butter, cream, cakes, and pastries, especially those rich in saturated fat, can cause an increase in cholesterol.
Certain health problems, such as hypertension, diabetes, liver and kidney diseases, and the early onset of menopause in women are effective in raising cholesterol.
The presence of coronary heart disease in the family also increases the likelihood of high cholesterol.

What is a Cholesterol Diet, and How Is It Applied?

The number of calories and nutritional values that each person should receive daily differ. The daily amount of energy should correspond to age, gender, height, weight, and physical activity status. When applying a cholesterol diet, the main thing is to achieve the ideal body weight and not to consume excessive fatty foods. When weight loss occurs, there will also be a decrease in cholesterol levels seen in blood tests.

With a cholesterol diet, 50-55% of the energy received daily should be from carbohydrates, 12-15% from protein, and 25-30% from fat. The amount of fat should not exceed 30%, and women’s diet should not contain nutrients that supply fat above 50-60 grams per day and men – above 55-70 grams. Fats taken with nutrients are divided into 3. The most important thing to pay attention to when applying a cholesterol-lowering diet list is the restriction of saturated fat sources.

Saturated fats: Butter, coconut oil, animal meat fats such as sheep, beef, lamb, pork, red meat varieties, whole milk, and dairy products.
Polyunsaturated fats: Types of liquid fats such as corn oil and sunflower oil
Monounsaturated fats: Olive oil, nuts, walnuts, and avocados
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats raise good (HDL) cholesterol; lower bad (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels. That is why it has positive effects on the heart and vascular health. On the other hand, unsaturated fats cause bad (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels to rise and negatively affect cardiovascular health. The peculiarity of saturated fats is that they are present in a solid-state at room temperature. Margarine is also a type of saturated fat and is not recommended for consumption. These varieties of saturated fats are most often found in fast-food products, ready-made French fries, and frozen products.

A cholesterol diet with adjusted protein, carbohydrate, and fat values can have three main, 2, or 3 Dec meals. A cholesterol diet prepared, that is, a cholesterol-lowering diet list should be fat-restricted, but not contain zero fat. Fat source foods are important for using vitamins A, D, E, and K in the body during nerve and absorption events in our body. For this reason, there should be as many fat sources in the diet as should be consumed daily, and these fats should be healthy types of fat. An important factor is also that the person drinks water. Care should be taken to drink an average of 2 liters of water per day. A cholesterol diet should be to bring blood cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride values December the normal range and achieve ideal body weight.

Recommendations for Nutrition So that Cholesterol and Triglycerides Do Not Rise

Meals should be made with oils such as olive corn oil and sunflower oil instead of solid oils such as butter and margarine.
Foods with high-fat content, such as French fries, fast food, should be avoided.
Vegetable or legume dishes prepared with meat, chicken, or minced meat should be cooked on their fat of meat without additional fat.
In studies conducted, it has been found that the consumption of walnuts and hazelnuts is effective in lowering high cholesterol. That is why 2-3 pieces of walnut or 15-20 pieces of hazelnut can be consumed per day.
Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt should be preferred over full-fat, half-fat or light ones.
Cheddar cheese has a higher fat content. That is why it is healthier to give preference to feta cheese or curd cheese.
Walnuts or avocados can be added to salads at some meals instead of olive oil. Avocado is a portion of food with high-fat content. That is why attention should be paid to the amount of consumption. A quarter of an avocado can be consumed instead of 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Packaged products should be checked from the product label for the presence of saturated fat in them before consumption.
If meat food is to be preferred in places such as cafes or restaurants, care should be taken not to contain tail fat.
It can be understood from the juice of vegetable or legume dishes that there is a lot of fat in the dish. In such a situation, the juice of the dish should not be consumed. The dish should be eaten with a fork.
Foods such as meat, chicken, and fish should be prepared by boiling, steaming, or baking instead of frying.

Can Cholesterol Sufferers Consume Eggs?

The egg is the most important food that should be consumed after breast milk due to its rich nutritional content. Eggs contain almost all the nutritional values needed by the body and are a type of food that is a source of protein such as meat, fish, milk. It is also defined as a “sample protein” due to its high protein content and its ability to be used in the body. The World Health Organization recommends that a minimum of 180 eggs should be consumed per person per year.

However, many studies have concluded that this value cannot be reached. The most important reason why the recommended level of egg consumption cannot be reached is that it is said that the egg has a high cholesterol content, so it increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, there are no long-term clinical studies conducted on these discourses.