Are These High Cholesterol Foods Part of Your Diet?
Part 1
High cholesterol foods
You may not have made the connection yet, but if you have diabetes, you need to be concerned about eating high cholesterol foods. This is because people with diabetes are three times more likely to develop heart disease than non-diabetics. One major factor contributing to this risk is high blood cholesterol, as well as high triglyceride levels, common among people with type 2 diabetes.
More than 85 percent of men and women who develop type 2 diabetes are overweight and sedentary. As these two problems have become more common in our society, incidence of diabetes has increased. And with that rise comes a jump in cardiovascular disease risk. Thus it is important to keep your blood cholesterol level and your risk of heart disease in mind.
To do so, health authorities recommend that you choose a diet in which about 30 percent of calories comes from fat, and of that fat, very little comes from saturated and trans fats. I don’t mean to imply that fat is bad for us, of course. Fat provides energy, and we need some fat to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. But because we are flooded with processed foods, we tend to choose foods higher in fats that can raise our cholesterol and damage our arteries.
We can’t live without cholesterol
Cholesterol is a chemical substance found in all animals, including humans. We all need it and we can’t live without it. The body uses cholesterol to manufacture digestive enzymes, a variety of hormones, and the protective sheath around nerves. About 80 percent of the cholesterol found in our blood vessels is made by the body itself, mainly in the liver.
Our diet contributes only 20 percent or less. That’s why dietary measures alone often can’t get cholesterol levels down as much as we desire, especially if you have a genetic tendency to produce too much of the stuff. Diet alone lowers cholesterol levels by about 6 percent, but if you combine a heart-healthy diet with other measures, such as exercise, high cholesterol numbers can fall into the healthy zone.
Saturated fat, what is it?
Have you ever asked yourself what the expression “saturated fat” means? Saturated, in this case, means that the chemical chain of this type of fat is saturated with hydrogen atoms. For good or for bad, the body has a preference for saturated fat when the time comes to store fat for future energy needs.
This is the reason why it is abundant in animal products. Solid or waxy at room temperature, saturated fat is generally considered the “bad guy” in the world of fats. Unfortunately, it is present in some of America’s favorite foods such as red meat, cold cuts, butter, cheese, whole milk, and ice cream as well as coconut, palm, and other tropical oils.
Saturated fat increases cholesterol levels
The primary concern about eating a lot of saturated fat, other than it is quite high in calories, is that it causes the liver to produce too much cholesterol, increasing in particular, the LDL or “bad” cholesterol. Saturated fat is also associated with a higher risk of developing congested arteries that can lead to a heart attack or a stroke.
As a result, the American Heart Association, as well as other health organizations, recommends that calories coming from fat supply about 30 percent of our total calories per day and that saturated fat be only 10 percent or less of those daily calories. For someone on a 2,000 calorie diet, this means that 600 calories would come from all fats combined (about 65 grams of fat) and 200 calories (about 22 grams) from saturated fat.
How to calculate your daily intake of recommended total fat per day
If your diet is 2,000 calories a day, follow the numbers below. If your diet is less or more than 2,000 calories per day, replace the number 2,000 with the number of calories you eat and follow the calculations given in the example below. The numbers in bold are always fixed
2,000 calorie diet X 30 = 60,000
60,000 ÷ 100 = 600 calories
600 calories ÷ 9 = 66 grams of fat (1 grams of fat or oil contains 9 calories)
How to calculate your daily intake of recommended saturated fat per day
2,000 calorie diet X 10 = 20,000
20,000 ÷ 100 = 200 calories
200 calories ÷ 9 = 22 grams of saturated fat
Reading the “Nutrition Label” for saturated fat
The nutrition label is an excellent tool when it comes to know the amount of total fat and saturated fat the item contains. Most food labels are based on either a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie intake per day.
Most abundant sources of saturated fat
Saturated fat is mainly found in:
1. Red meats
2. Dairy products
3. Butter
4. Ice cream
5. Tropical oils: palm and coconut
A tablespoon of butter, for example, contains 7 grams of saturated fat, about a third of the recommended daily amount for someone eating 2,000 calories per day. Coconut is 92 percent saturated fat, while 50 percent of palm oil is saturated fat.
How to keep saturated fat at a reasonable level
1. Limit your meat intake. Consider going “Mediterranean style” and eating red meat only a few times per month and poultry and eggs only a few times per week.
2. Choose lean forms of beef. Avoid the marbled (fat-laden) cuts. Look for ground round containing low percentages of fat, 10 percent or less if possible.
3. Roast, bake, grill, broil, and stir-fry meat. Avoid frying it.
4. Trim the fat from the beef and pork and remove the skin from your chicken.
5. If you drink whole milk try to switch to 2 percent. Even better, switch to 1% or non-fat.
6. You can also try low-fat or non-fat versions of cheese, yogurt, sour cream and ice cream.
7. Try low-fat or non-fat versions of your favorite salad dressings. Regular forms can deliver more than 150 calories in two tablespoons.
8. Before using butter consider olive oil. It is better for you and your arteries.
Check the second part of this article to get familiar with the other high cholesterol food group that will increase your cholesterol numbers.
To your health!
Emilia Klapp, RD, BS
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
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