Food and High Blood Cholesterol

Food and High Blood Cholesterol

 

High blood cholesterol is a condition in which the body has higher levels of cholesterol in the blood than normal. It can be due to high levels of either LDL (bad) cholesterol or triglycerides, or both. High blood cholesterol can cause arteries to become stiff, narrow, or clogged, which is a major factor in the development of heart disease and stroke.

 

Causes of High Blood Cholesterol

 

• Being overweight or obese
• Lack of physical activity
• Regular consumption of alcohol or smoking
• Consuming foods high in saturated and trans fats
• Certain medical conditions or medications such as hypothyroidism, diabetes, kidney disease, diuretics, steroids, and birth control pills
• Genetics

 

Important Types of Blood Cholesterol

 

• Triglycerides: The body produces triglycerides from sugar, alcohol, and some foods. High levels of triglycerides can cause clogged arteries.
• LDL (bad) cholesterol: The body can produce LDL cholesterol or get it from certain foods. Sources of LDL cholesterol include red meat, butter, cheese, and other high-fat dairy products. High levels of LDL cholesterol can lead to the accumulation of fatty deposits in the arteries, which can cause them to become stiff and narrow, leading to heart disease.
• HDL (good) cholesterol: HDL cholesterol is beneficial as it helps to transport excess cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver, where it can be broken down and eliminated from the body. Sources of HDL cholesterol include foods such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.

 

To maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels, it is important to eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources, and healthy fats. It is also important to limit saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and sodium in the diet. Regular exercise and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can also help to maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels.

 

Goal for controlling cholesterol:

 

• Triglycerides <150 mg/dL
• Total cholesterol <200 mg/dL
• LDL-C <130 mg/dL
• HDL-C >40 mg/dL for males, >50 mg/dL for females

 

Food choices:

 

• Avoid consuming animal fats, such as pork fat, pork belly, pork neck, fatty pork, animal skin, chicken fat. If you want to eat chicken, choose breast meat and other lean parts of animals with low fat content, such as fish, beef, and pork loin.
• Avoid consuming coconut fat, such as thick coconut milk. You should also avoid consuming dishes that contain coconut milk, such as spicy curry, Panang curry, green curry, and chicken galangal soup. Use plant-based coconut cream or low-fat milk instead.
• Avoid consuming high-cholesterol foods, such as fish roe, red eggs, liver, kidneys, brains, squid, and mussels. Limit the consumption of red eggs to no more than 3-4 yolks per week. Organ meats should not be consumed frequently.
• Avoid using coconut oil, palm oil, and animal fats, such as chicken fat, pork fat, boiled pork fat for cooking. Use rice bran oil for both stir-frying and deep-frying, and avoid using too much heat. Alternatively, use other vegetable oils according to your preference.
• Avoid consuming trans fats, which are commonly found in margarine, white butter, whipped cream, or foods that contain these fats, such as cakes, cookies, pies, pastries, fried sweet potatoes, and reused cooking oil.
• Reduce consumption of sugary foods, such as sweet desserts, Thai desserts, sweetened drinks, or products that contain high amounts of sugar (check the sugar content on the label). Instead, choose fruits, vegetables, or sugar-free snacks.
• Avoid drinking energy drinks and all types of alcoholic beverages, as they can raise the level of triglycerides in the blood.
• Quit or reduce smoking.
• Choose to consume high fiber foods such as vegetables, fruits, brown rice, and low-starch grains.
• Choose to eat foods that are not fried in oil, such as salads, sour soup, jungle curry, clear soup, steamed fish with vegetables, grilled fish, low-oil stir-fried dishes, and non-greasy fried food. Food cooked in oil, such as fluffy eggs, stir-fried fish, and breaded chicken, should be avoided.

• Choose to consume hard nuts, yellow beans, tuna, mackerel, saba fish, and other oily fish at least 3-4 times a week. These seafood options, especially those with omega-3, are effective in reducing triglyceride levels in the blood. However, if consumed in large amounts, they can contribute to weight gain.
• Choose low-fat milk, such as skimmed or 1% milk.

 

Recommendations for choosing cooking oils:

 

• Extra-virgin olive oil is best for salads.
• Rice bran oil, soybean oil, canola oil, pure olive oil, sesame oil, and sunflower oil are suitable for general cooking.
• Avoid using cottonseed oil and corn oil for frying.
• Coconut oil and palm kernel oil are suitable for general cooking.
• Palm oil is suitable for frying at high temperatures or deep frying.

Those with high blood lipid levels should avoid using oils #4 and #5.

 

Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) are natural fatty acids found in some plant oils, which help reduce the risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol, and reduce bad cholesterol (LDL-C), without affecting good cholesterol (HDL-C). They are abundant in oils such as olive oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, rice bran oil, sesame oil, almond oil, and peanut oil.

 

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are also natural fatty acids found in some plant oils, particularly in sunflower oil, corn oil, and soybean oil. They help reduce bad cholesterol (LDL-C) but also reduce good cholesterol (HDL-C).