Lowering Fat and Cholesterol In Your Diet  | The goal is to keep your total fat intake to ‹15% of your total calories, less than 4% of total calories from saturated fat, and less than 100 mg of cholesterol per day. Use these tips to help keep you within these guidelines:
1. Follow the Pritikin Eating Plan for high cholesterol:
| • | Limit animal protein to 3 1/2 ounces per day. Choose mainly fish and shellfish or smaller amounts of extra lean cuts of beef, skinless white meat poultry. | | • | For vegetable proteins on other days, eat low-fat soy products or legumes such as lentils, dried beans and peas. | | • | Avoid trans fatty acids found in hydrogenated fats, margarine, and shortening. Read food labels to make sure these fats are not listed in the ingredient list. | | • | On salads, use fat-free, low-sodium salad dressings or flavored vinegar in place of oil. Adding just 1 Tablespoon of oil to the diet increases the percentage of calories from fat by 5-10%.
Substitute nonfat dairy products or low fat fortified/enriched soy for low fat or whole milk brands. Two servings per day are recommended. | | • | Use nonfat condiments to flavor food whenever possible, i.e. nonfat sour cream, nonfat cream cheese, nonfat mayonnaise, nonfat butter-flavored sprays, mustard, and salsa. Try using herbs, cooking wine or low-sodium broth when cooking in place of oil, margarine or butter. | | • | Choose tomato sauce in place of cream/butter/oil based sauces.
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2. Lose weight if you are overweight. Even a small reduction in weight can lead to a decrease in blood cholesterol levels.
3. Eat frequent, smaller meals instead of 2-3 large meals.
How can I increase my HDL levels?
1. Exercise. Increasing physical activity seems to have a positive impact on HDL levels. Try to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes per day (may take several months to see the effect).
2. Lose weight.
3. Eat frequent, smaller meals instead of 2-3 large meals.
4. Alcohol in moderation may help increase HDL, however there are adverse metabolic effects. The Pritikin Program recommends limiting your alcohol consumption to no more than 4 drinks per week for a woman and 7 drinks per week for a man.
Is there really such a thing as good fat?
Some scientists are now advocating a higher-fat diet because they believe low-fat diets lower HDL levels and raise heart disease risk. The fat of choice is monounsaturated fats such as nuts, canola and olive oil. It's true that some studies have demonstrated that switching from saturated and trans fats to monounsaturated fats lowers LDL without lowering HDL levels, and populations who consume olive oil over butter and animal fat have lower rates of heart disease than that of the U.S.
Let's analyze the data reported on a study conducted on people in the Mediterranean in the 1950s. This study revealed that despite a diet high in fat (over 40% of calories), their rate of heart disease was remarkably low due to the main source of fat coming from olive oil. This was particularly true for people on the island of Crete. By looking closer at the data, there seems to be other significant factors that played a role in their low rate of heart disease. First of all, the rest of their diet was very healthy - high in fruits, vegetables, course breads, potatoes, beans and a little fish and wine. Saturated fat was only 6% of their total calories. What's more, they also walked an average of 9 miles a day, often doing heavy physical labor. It was rare to find an overweight Crete! Yet, the focus of this study has been on the large amounts of olive oil these people ate and not on the amount of exercise and their intake of fruits and vegetables.
Interestingly, the Cretes of today are fat! They still eat a lot of olive oil, but their consumption of fruits, vegetables and other high fiber foods is way down. Physical activity has also been decreased. As a result, obesity has shot up to 60% of adults and 50% of children! Strong supporters of the Mediterranean diet admit this diet is only viable in people who are close to normal weight (which is not saying much for America where 61% of American adults are overweight or obese!)
Looking closer at olive oil. It actually has more calories per ounce than butter - 4,020 calories versus 3,200 for butter. And even though olive oil is largely made up of monounsaturated fats, it also has 14% saturated fat. Basically, the more olive oil you eat, the more saturated fat you are consuming.
In addition, fat has more than double the amount of calories than carbohydrates, which can lead to obesity. Obesity has been linked to a multitude of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and certain types of cancer. Not only that, as weight goes up, HDL levels drop! So all your hard efforts of lowering your risk for heart disease by consuming more olive oil may be negated by all that added poundage. And beside promoting weight gain, high fat diets from any source of fat except omega-3 rich oils may promote blood clots, particularly in those who already have blocked arteries (Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 1995).
The bottom line is this too much fat, no matter what source it's from is far from harmless.
The Pritikin Eating Plan is designed to maximally lower serum cholesterol levels by reducing saturated fat and cholesterol intake, while increasing high fiber foods. Even if calorie intake remains consistent, adding monounsaturated fats such as olive oil will displace other cholesterol-lowering foods - such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables - from the diet. This in turn could actually raise serum cholesterol.
The Pritikin Eating Plan does advocate small amounts of cold-water fish, such as salmon and mackerel. These fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which seem to reduce the blood's tendency to form clots. The recommendation is 3 1/2 ounces, 2 to 3 times per week in place of animal or other protein sources, particularly for those with atherosclerosis.
So how much fat do we really need in our diet?
Most nutrition experts recommend at least 2-3% of your total calories as essential fatty acids, or fats that we need from our diet. This is sufficient to prevent any deficiency. At least 3 - 4% of the calories on the Pritikin Eating Plan are from essential fatty acids, which can be found in whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables. Seafood is the only animal product that provides a good source of these fats. |
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