High Cholesterol: An illness inflicting men

Managing high cholesterol must include a series of changes in lifestyle and eating habits. The main ingredient that must be reduced is the intake of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, while increasing ingredients that are high in fiber, good monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and antioxidants. More specifically: Decrease consumption of: Fatty red meat (lamb, goat, pork, beef) High fat cold cuts and sausages (ie bacon, salami) Dairy products with high fat (whole milk and yogurt) High fat cheese (gruyere, parmesan) Butter (this can be replaced with margarine), sauce, mayonnaise, milk cream Sweets (that contain chocolate, whipped cream, milk cream) Savory and sweet puff pastries (cheese pie, ham and cheese pies etc) Liver and other intestines Seafood, such as shrimp Eggs Increase consumption of: Fruits Vegetables Whole wheat products (bread, rusk, pasta, cereal) Nuts (pistacios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds) Legumes (beans, lentils) Sesami – tahini Olive oil Low fat cheese (such as, anthotyro, cottage cheese) Cholesterol-lowering products (such as Benecol) Fish (especially fatty fish, such as salmon, hake and sardines) Chicken, poultry in general

AVOID	PREFER
Beef, pork, lamb, goat	Fatty fish, chicken, turkey, rabbit
Cold cuts (i.e. bacon, salami)	Low fat cold cuts, such as chicken or turkey
High fat cheese	Low fat cheese
Whole milk, yogurt	Skim milk and 0- 2% yogurt
Animal fat, butter, mayonnaise, milk cream	Olive oil, functoinal vegetable margarines, like cream milk
Sweets with cream milk, whipped cream and milk chocolate	Fruit preserves, nougats
Alcohol abuse	Red wine (1 – 2 glasses a day), beer (1 small pint)