Did You Know? Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet When You Have High Cholesterol
A vegetarian diet can be heart-healthy and nutritious. Changing what you eat may help lower your cholesterol levels.
Cutting meat and dairy from your diet is one way to lower your high cholesterol levels, since the saturated fats that raise blood cholesterol come primarily from animal products. And even better, a vegetarian diet may lower your risk for chronic health conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer. Here's how to do it right.
Is a Vegetarian Diet Safe and Nutritious?
A well-rounded vegetarian diet can be healthy and nutritionally sound with some careful planning. Here are tips to make sure you're getting enough essential nutrients:
Protein You can get all the protein you need from a vegetarian diet. Pulses (beans and peas), legumes, and soy are all rich sources of protein. Good sources of plant protein include whole grains, seeds, nuts, and some vegetables.
Iron A vegetarian diet may put you at higher risk for iron deficiency. Make sure to get enough good plant-based sources of iron, like dried beans, spinach, dried fruits, and yeast in your diet.
Vitamin B12 This vitamin is important for reducing the risk of heart disease, and vegetarians often don't get enough B12, which could put them at risk. You can make sure to get enough vitamin B12 by including a type of seaweed called dried purple laver (nori) in your diet, eating fortified products such as B12-fortified soy milk or cereal, or taking a B12 supplement.
Zinc This mineral is important for growth and development. Grains, nuts, and legumes are good sources of zinc.
Vitamin D If you don't include dairy in your vegetarian diet and you don't spend much time outdoors in the sun, you might not get the vitamin D you need. You may want to supplement your diet with vitamin D and calcium.
Vegetarian Cooking Tips to Lower Cholesterol
Even though a vegetarian diet eliminates animal foods as a source of saturated fat, if you have high cholesterol, you'll still need to watch out for sources of fat and cooking methods that can affect your cholesterol levels.
Avoid trans fats. Many vegetable oils have hydrogen added to them. Called hydrogenated oils, these are high in trans fats, which can raise your cholesterol levels. Read the labels of any butter substitute or cooking oil you're choosing in order to avoid trans fats when you cook.
Limit saturated fats. These fats can raise your cholesterol levels and are primarily found in meat and full-fat dairy products. But beware that coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils do contain saturated fats. Consider substitutes like the heart-healthy oils below.
Add heart-healthy oils. Cook with healthier unsaturated fats, found in heart-healthy oils like safflower, corn, olive, canola, and peanut oils, to help lower your cholesterol levels.
Try low-fat cooking. You can sauté in water instead of oil, or use just a very small amount of canola or olive oil to sauté instead of frying. Broiling, steaming, poaching, and boiling are better than frying when you're watching the amount of fat and calories in your diet. When baking, you can cut back on the amount of oil or margarine and replace it with water, juice, or applesauce.
Vegetarian Diet: Eating Out
Eating out and sticking to your vegetarian diet can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help you:
Plan in advance. Think about what kind of restaurant you want to go to so you'll have more plant-based options. In addition to vegetarian spots, international choices, such as Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, and Japanese restaurants, tend to have more vegetarian diet selections.
Call ahead. Inquire about the menu when you make reservations.
Talk to your server. Don't assume that your server knows that food prepared in chicken stock isn't vegetarian, or that lard and gelatin are animal products. Be specific about your dietary requirements to avoid surprises in your meal.
SOURCE
Cutting meat and dairy from your diet is one way to lower your high cholesterol levels, since the saturated fats that raise blood cholesterol come primarily from animal products. And even better, a vegetarian diet may lower your risk for chronic health conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer. Here's how to do it right.
Is a Vegetarian Diet Safe and Nutritious?
A well-rounded vegetarian diet can be healthy and nutritionally sound with some careful planning. Here are tips to make sure you're getting enough essential nutrients:
Protein You can get all the protein you need from a vegetarian diet. Pulses (beans and peas), legumes, and soy are all rich sources of protein. Good sources of plant protein include whole grains, seeds, nuts, and some vegetables.
Iron A vegetarian diet may put you at higher risk for iron deficiency. Make sure to get enough good plant-based sources of iron, like dried beans, spinach, dried fruits, and yeast in your diet.
Vitamin B12 This vitamin is important for reducing the risk of heart disease, and vegetarians often don't get enough B12, which could put them at risk. You can make sure to get enough vitamin B12 by including a type of seaweed called dried purple laver (nori) in your diet, eating fortified products such as B12-fortified soy milk or cereal, or taking a B12 supplement.
Zinc This mineral is important for growth and development. Grains, nuts, and legumes are good sources of zinc.
Vitamin D If you don't include dairy in your vegetarian diet and you don't spend much time outdoors in the sun, you might not get the vitamin D you need. You may want to supplement your diet with vitamin D and calcium.
Vegetarian Cooking Tips to Lower Cholesterol
Even though a vegetarian diet eliminates animal foods as a source of saturated fat, if you have high cholesterol, you'll still need to watch out for sources of fat and cooking methods that can affect your cholesterol levels.
Avoid trans fats. Many vegetable oils have hydrogen added to them. Called hydrogenated oils, these are high in trans fats, which can raise your cholesterol levels. Read the labels of any butter substitute or cooking oil you're choosing in order to avoid trans fats when you cook.
Limit saturated fats. These fats can raise your cholesterol levels and are primarily found in meat and full-fat dairy products. But beware that coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils do contain saturated fats. Consider substitutes like the heart-healthy oils below.
Add heart-healthy oils. Cook with healthier unsaturated fats, found in heart-healthy oils like safflower, corn, olive, canola, and peanut oils, to help lower your cholesterol levels.
Try low-fat cooking. You can sauté in water instead of oil, or use just a very small amount of canola or olive oil to sauté instead of frying. Broiling, steaming, poaching, and boiling are better than frying when you're watching the amount of fat and calories in your diet. When baking, you can cut back on the amount of oil or margarine and replace it with water, juice, or applesauce.
Vegetarian Diet: Eating Out
Eating out and sticking to your vegetarian diet can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help you:
Plan in advance. Think about what kind of restaurant you want to go to so you'll have more plant-based options. In addition to vegetarian spots, international choices, such as Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, and Japanese restaurants, tend to have more vegetarian diet selections.
Call ahead. Inquire about the menu when you make reservations.
Talk to your server. Don't assume that your server knows that food prepared in chicken stock isn't vegetarian, or that lard and gelatin are animal products. Be specific about your dietary requirements to avoid surprises in your meal.
SOURCE
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