Tips For Lowering Cholesterol A Note On Fats

Cooking Modifications
What’s Your
Some types of fat in food are almost
• Bake, roast, broil, poach, steam or as harmful or more harmful to your
microwave your food. DO NOT FRY!

Number?
heart as cholesterol.
• Trim the fat, remove the skin & drain
grease when cooking meat
Saturated Fat
• Use low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese and
Eating foods with saturated fat will
sour cream in recipes
raise your blood cholesterol and clog
• Use Olive oil or Canola oil
your arteries. Saturated fats are
found ONLY in animal foods like whole
Foods to choose milk, butter, sour cream, full fat dairy 159
• Drink non-fat or 1% milk products, beef, pork and poultry.
• Use non-fat or low fat dairy products 315
and soft tub margarine 205
Trans Fats
• Aim for 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of Trans fats act just like saturated fats and
vegetables everyday. raise your blood cholesterol levels. Trans
• Eat at least 3 ounces of whole grains fats are found in margarine, shortening and
everyday like brown rice, whole wheat many baked products. Keep your trans fat
bread and pasta, whole grain cereals & intake as low as possible.
oatmeal
Poly- & Mono-unsaturated Fats
Foods to avoid Not all fat is harmful. These fats are
• Full fat milk, cheese, butter, dairy heart healthy. Include them in your
products and hard or stick margarine diet to reduce your heart disease risk
• Creamy salad dressings & mayo • Eat fatty fish like salmon and
• Bacon, sausages & chorizo albacore tuna 2-3 times a week.
• Fried foods, donuts & pastries • “Sprinkle” your diet with
• Have only 3 or less egg yolks per week monounsaturated fats like:
• Organ meats like liver, kidneys, • Olive oil and canola oil
sweetbreads or brains • Nuts (almonds and walnuts) Cholesterol:
• Avocados
Physical Activity and Weight • Flax seed Know the Facts
• Get 30 minutes of activity each day
• Maintain a healthy weight
County of Los Angeles Nutrition Program
• If you are overweight, losing just 10% of 3530 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 800
Los Angeles, CA 90010
your weight lowers your cholesterol
(213) 351-7889
 b o u t C h o l e s t e r ol
A Good vs. Bad
LDL Cholesterol = “BAD” cholesterol
Cholesterol Getting Tested • LDL travels from your liver through
Regularly testing your blood your blood dropping off cholesterol to
A fat-like, waxy substance that is
cholesterol lowers your chance of your cells
naturally found in your blood. Your body
needs cholesterol to fix cells and to make getting heart disease or having a • When LDL levels are high, too much
hormones and vitamin D. Everyday your heart attack. This test should be checked cholesterol is dropped off in your
liver makes most of the cholesterol you regularly, about every five years if you blood vessels, blocking them
need. Cholesterol is found all animals and have no other risk factors for heart • LDL levels increase from eating
animal foods like red meat, organ meats, disease. foods high in fat, saturated fat and
eggs and whole milk dairy. Plants and cholesterol
plant foods like fruits, vegetables and What should my cholesterol be?
grains contain no cholesterol. Having too There are several types of cholesterol in
much cholesterol in your blood clogs your your blood that are measured to
HDL Cholesterol =“GOOD” cholesterol
blood vessels leading to heart disease and determine your risk for heart disease. A
• HDL travels around in your blood
heart attacks. simple blood test will check your total
picking up extra cholesterol bringing it
cholesterol, HDL and LDL levels. According
back to the liver
to the American Heart Association, your
What raises my cholesterol? • High HDL levels prevent cholesterol
• Eating foods high in cholesterol, fat heart disease risk is based on the
following: from building up in your arteries
and saturated fat
• Having a diet low in fiber, whole • HDL levels increase with exercise,
grains, fruits and vegetables weight loss, eating mono- and
Desirable Borderline High Risk polyunsaturated fats & not smoking
• Low physical activity levels, being Risk
overweight or obese, having diabetes
Total Less than 200 200-239 Over 240
• Having high stress levels, smoking mg/dl mg/dl mg/dl
Cholesterol

LDL Less than 100- 130-159 Over 160

Why monitor my cholesterol? HDL Men: Over 45 40 mg/dl Below 40 Keep your HDL levels HIGH and your LDL
mg/dl mg/dl
• Cholesterol can build up in your blood Women: Over levels LOW to prevent heart disease and
slowly over time with out symptoms 55 mg/dl heart attacks
• Finding out your cholesterol level
allows you to make
changes early enough to
prevent a heart attack
from happening