Foods to avoid high cholesterol

Foods to avoid high cholesterol reveals how you can do it without suffering from the nasty side effects of statins.

Do you have high cholesterol and are you a smoker? This man and his doctors couldn't figure out what was causing pain in his right leg when he walked. I could not either until I started hunting for the pulse in his ankle. Something predictable but also surprising; a free tidbit from my third book of anecdotes, Stones in my Clog.

This page was last updated by Bernard Preston on 9th December, 2024.

Cholesterol is a completely natural fatty compound synthesized by the liver. You cannot live without it; it is for example the basis of many hormones in the body and forms an essential part of the cell walls in your tissues.

You also get cholesterol in your diet. Here lies the problem; scientists used to think that some fats, particularly those from animals consumed in food would greatly increase your chances of having a heart attack or stroke. Research also indicates that when raised in the blood stream it increases the incidence of lower back pain.

Now it appears that foods rich in cholesterol barely affect the levels in the blood; it's the refined carbs that are the devils.

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The first step in this process of analysing your diet is to decide just how aggressive you need to be in lowering your cholesterol. To do that, ask for the results of your blood fat tests and look at the tables below.

I have added my own figures in, not to boast but just to show that some fairly basic changes in lifestyle can get you off the statins, with all their nasty side effects that are today being used to lower cholesterol.

I confess it; I am crazy about butter, our mutton stew and the rich cheeses of Holland; and I refuse to drink low fat milk because it tastes so awful. I absolutely will not eat margarine, I drink too much natural wine made from raw honey and yet my cholesterol figures are excellent. How can that be?

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It is not just in the genes. It is all about the overall shape of your diet. Are you an old dog, unable to change?

Then this site is not for you; it has been written by another old dog who does want to sit under the fruit trees he once planted, drink tea and watch the grand-kids grow up; and he's willing to make the very small sacrifices that will enable that to happen.

Read on, your fatty acid figures can be excellent too. But first, how seriously do you have to take this foods to avoid high cholesterol?

Got those figures on hand?

Foods to avoid high cholesterol

Foods to avoid high cholesterol shows it's not difficult to get your LDLs down with a few dietary changes.

Total cholesterol

But first let's look at your LDL, HDL and total cholesterol chart.

Cholesterol is not bad! It is a perfectly normal substance in your body and if you don't eat it, your liver will manufacture it; an essential part of your hormones for example.

Remember there are different kinds of cholesterol. Some should be raised! High Density Lipoprotein is protective in your body. HDL is the kind that transports fats back to the liver and the higher your levels, the better.

Your HDL should be greater than 50 mg/dL; and preferably above 60.

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What are LDL and HDL cholesterol?

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LDL: Low Density Cholesterol

HDL: High Density Cholesterol

LDL stands for Low Density Lipoprotein. This is the nasty form of cholesterol. It should certainly be below 130 (3.4) and preferably less than 100 (2.6). If it's above you need to be worried.

In the short term remembering FOODS TO AVOID HIGH CHOLESTEROL is important.

Far more important, in the long term is foods that lower cholesterol.

Do you have a LDL reading of 150? You need urgently to look at your diet. Some things you are eating, more important foods you are NOT consuming are killing you; literally. Do you also not want to sit under those trees you once planted? Don't you too want to watch your grandchildren grow up?

mg/dL and mmol/L

What do these terms mean?

Whilst mg/dL is the traditional unit for measuring cholesterol, the scientific community and most of the world is moving rapidly to mmol/L.

Not to worry but get used to seeing 5.1 instead of 200 as the boundary between optimal blood cholesterol and the high risk area. Like grams and metres, mmol/L is the future.

And only when the folk eating typical grocery store food start to take seriously the foods to avoid high cholesterol will the great dream of wellness without medication be realised; that wonderful prospect of a healthy future is seriously undermining everything the Pilgrim Fathers strove for. A close relative of mine has just had a two heart attacks; he's only 44. My relatives call me a food snob.

• Epicure or food snob?
  

LDL chart

This LDL chart gives you some idea of where you are in the troublesome fatty acids stakes. There may be some foods to avoid high cholesterol.

mg/dL	mmol/L	Good? Bad?
50	1,3	Fantastic
Below 70	1,8	Desirable if smoker
95	2,5	Bernard Preston
Below 100	2,6	Ideal
100-130	2,6+	Fair
160+	4,1+	High
190+	4,9+	High Voltage!

HDL (High Density Cholesterol)

So High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol is the good stuff. The higher the better, as it has a protective function. Is your HDL less than 40 (if you are male)and 50 (if you are woman)? You need to be worried.

You are dangerously low on the protective HDL cholesterol.

Lp[a] cholesterol

Lp[a] cholesterol is an independent risk factor for CV disease; statin therapy actually increases the levels in the blood stream by 10 to 20%. It is not usually measured on standard lab panels.

Lp[a] cholesterol can be lowered naturally by a Whole Food Plant Based diet with vitamin B3 supplements according to the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity; we would recommend regular consumption of avocado, unrefined grains and mushrooms rather than niacin pills which often cause hot flushes.

That does not mean being a vegetarian; just making sure that you are regularly eating plenty of vegetables and salads; that's not difficult. Far more onerous is finding true whole grains; corn on the cob in the summer is ideal. 100% stone-ground grits with cream and raw honey is delicious in the winter.

Triglycerides

Biochemistry is complex stuff but just accept that fat which you eat, in the case of triclycerides particularly sugar and booze is carried around in the blood stream in a form called VLDL; forget the name, but not the principle. It is then either immediately used by the cells for energy or stored as adipose.

These kids are enjoying food dangerously high in fat, carbs and sugar; the result is that triglycerides in their blood will be in the High Voltage area before being deposited as adipose tissue. That greatly increases the risk of diabetes and a life-threatening condition called pancreatitis.

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Of concern is that one can eat a diet low in fat and have normal LDL cholesterol but because of foods high in sugar or alcohol still have sky-high, very dangerous triglycerides in the blood.

The size of the fat cells in your body are determined by the age of nine. Allow your children to become obese and you've just condemned them to a lifetime battle with their weight. They might years later sue you for negligence.

Rightly so since it is nearly as dangerous as starving your child. Not literally but I think you take my point. Foods to avoid high cholesterol is just as important for your kids as for you; perhaps even more so.

Far more people die from obesity than starvation in the world.

What determines the level of LDL cholesterol in the blood?

The short answer is an excess of saturated fat and refined carbs in your diet and too little of the foods that lower LDL cholesterol. Red meat, copious dairy products and commercial bread are the common devils; white rice, usual pasta and breakfast cereals also.

Unrefined steel-cut oats and legumes like hummus are helps; salads and eggplant should also feature.

The level of cholesterol in the blood is controlled by the liver. There are tiny "LDL receptors" that remove the fat from the blood. In some people there are too few of these sensors (it's probably genetic but may well be related to life style, medication and exercise levels too) so they have to be far more vigilant about what they eat.

SHORT TERM STRATEGY

FOODS TO AVOID HIGH CHOLESTEROL

So your Total Cholesterol is above 200 (5.1), perhaps quite a lot higher (250, 270?) and your LDL is raised at 160 (4.1). The short term strategy is fairly simple.

1. Lean red meat absolutely no more than once a day. If your cholesterol is 250+, then no more than twice a week.
2. No more than 3 eggs per week; they are an excellent source of protein and vitamin B12.
3. I can't bring myself to say "change to margarine" but butter in very limited quantities; more olive oil.
4. Limit cheese and cut it out completely if you are in the high voltage area.
   
5. Absolutely avoid all hydrogenated foods; no chips or nick-knacks. Read the labels.
   

LONG TERM STRATEGY

There are a lot of foods that will hinder the cholesterol you are eating being absorbed into your blood stream. This is definitely the easier way to go. Then you can have your cake, AND EAT IT.

• FOODS THAT LOWER CHOLESTEROL
  
  

Good luck, it can be done. I know because I enjoy plenty of eggs, dairy and some red meat. So can you but you need to get to know about foods like oats, apples and hummus; and lots more. They are the good stuff. Far better than meds to lower cholesterol with all their nasty side effects.

• Healthy hummus recipe
  

To release that fat from your adipose tissue, obviously the first step is to find out which foods to avoid high cholesterol; that's not rocket science. Cut back hard on them and especially all refined carbohydrates; starches like commercial bread, pasta and potato from cold storage. White rice, sugary foods and alcohol need to be strictly limited.

Beer especially goes straight to the belly; maltose has an extremely high GI.

Natural honey has a low GI and be used for sweetening but not in baking.

Homocysteine cardiovascular disease

Understanding homocysteine cardiovascular disease is probably even more important than foods to lower cholesterol.

Scientists now think that HOMOCYSTEINE, a breakdown product of the essential amino acid METHIONINE metabolism (found in large quantities in red meat, fish and dairy products) is an even better indicator of heart and cardiovascular disease.

Read more at HOMOCYSTEINE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.

In short it's one of the reasons the American Heart Association has come full circle on eggs; they contain the choline and B12 vitally needed to methylate homocysteine; the folate in dark green leafy vegetables too.

So by the inclusion of foods to lower cholesterol, we need to aim for the right to enjoy some saturated fats in dairy products without spoiling the figures.

We in fact eat only free range eggs because they have three times the omega-3 and higher choline.

It's difficult to locate true free range eggs; sadly a lot of farmers lie through their teeth.

Red yeast rice

Medical research proves that a combination of red yeast rice and fish oil is just as effective as statins; and with fewer side effects.

• RED YEAST RICE
  

Does lowering LDL cholesterol prevent heart attacks and strokes?

Yes absolutely and unequivocally lowering LDL cholesterol will help prevent cardiovascular disease.

FOODS TO AVOID HIGH CHOLESTEROL is vital to reduce your raised LDL which will help eliminate the plaque that clogs your arteries. The cardiologist is concerned about the Coronary vessels; the neurosurgeon about the Carotid, Basilar and Cerebral arteries;

The chiropractor will be concerned about the Vertebral arteries in your neck and the lumbar plexus of vessels that supply your lower back. LDL cholesterol clogs the capillaries; it's called atherosclerosis. They supply blood to all parts of the body, not just your heart and brain; more back pain too.

FOODS TO AVOID HIGH CHOLESTEROL

How can LDL cholesterol levels be lowered?

On a personal level I endeavour to have two or three fruits for breakfast; a plum, six strawberries and a slice of melon this morning. Add to that a small bowl of unrefined oats or stone-ground grits; and an egg. Most breakfast cereals are ultraprocessed. 

Eggs Florentine makes for an excellent breakfast; it ticks many of the right buttons.

CHOLESTEROL CREDIT

Just as in purchasing Carbon Credits one can buy the right to enjoy cholesterol-rich foods like butter and eggs.

• CHOLESTEROL CREDIT; have your cake and eat it.
  
  

CHICKPEA BURGERS

Whilst soyabean is perfectly horrid in my opinion, if you are looking for recipes to lower cholesterol, then chickpea burgers make a wonderful red meat substitute. Enjoy them on a wholegrain roll or with a green salad.

Legumes in general are excellent examples of how to lower cholesterol naturally. Even better to my mind and a lot simpler than those burgers is our authentic hummus recipe; it takes only five minutes to rustle it up.

Dizzy?

Dizziness and vertigo are not the same; both are more common in persons with raised cholesterol.

They are also more common in patients taking statins, those drugs used for lowering cholesterol; worse they make one more prone to insulin-dependent diabetes^[1].

• Dizzy; a short story from Stones in my Clog

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Bernard Preston

Bernard Preston became fascinated with this subject when he discovered that, despite not worrying about foods to avoid high cholesterol, his levels were what he facetiously terms "dangerously low." There's no such thing, of course.

Is it genetic or because of a compulsion to enjoy nutritious choice foods? He believes it's more important to ADD new things to the diet rather than fussing about removing eggs and butter and the like; look to enjoying oats and chickpeas regularly, and creating a divine green salad.

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