Countless articles have been written about the dangers of cholesterol for the body, and probably every second can tell about it. But is it really that simple? What is a cholesterol-free diet? What foods can I eat?
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is an organic compound, a natural lipophilic alcohol, which is found in the cell membranes of all living organisms, fungi and prokaryotes.
Almost 80% of cholesterol is produced by the body itself, while the remaining 20% we get with food and drinks. To control these 20%, a cholesterol-free diet is indicated. What foods you can eat specifically for you, only your doctor will tell.
History of the discovery of cholesterol
In 1769, Pouletier de la Salle, a French chemist, managed to isolate from gallstones a dense white substance that has many properties of fats. He called his find "fatty." In 1789, another Frenchman, a member of the national Convention Antoine Francois de Fourcroix, received this substance in its pure form. And only in 1815 the name "cholesterol" appeared. It was invented by the French organic chemist Michel Chevrel, combining the word “bile” (“chole”) with the word “bold” (“sterol”). However, cholesterol is not fat: in 1859, another Frenchman, Pierre Berthelot, proved that the substance belongs to the class of alcohols, so since 1900 it was called cholesterol. In Russia, this name has not taken root.
What is cholesterol for?
Cholesterol is of great importance for the functioning of the body, so the chosen cholesterol-free diet should not completely exclude it from the diet. This substance is an indispensable building material for creating cell membranes. Cholesterol protects the cell and intracellular structures from the dangerous effects of free oxygen radicals, so the ability to survive, as well as its strength and stability, depends on its quantity in the membrane.
Cholesterol is also needed to produce steroid hormones in the adrenal cortex and sex hormones. In addition, it is needed for the metabolism and assimilation of vitamins A, E, D and K, for the production of vitamin D and insulin, for maintaining muscle tone and mineral metabolism, for good functioning of the immune system. Without cholesterol, the serotonin receptors located in the brain will not function normally.
Why is cholesterol dangerous?
The World Health Organization has concluded that cholesterol is one of the causes of atherosclerosis. Indeed, with its excess, plaques form on the inner walls of blood vessels, which reduce their diameter and, accordingly, reduce throughput. As a rule, pain and impaired functioning of organs in atherosclerosis occur only when the blood vessels are blocked by two-thirds or more. This poses a serious threat, since atherosclerosis is the basis of many diseases of the cardiovascular system - stroke, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, thrombosis and others. Therefore, if the doctor recommended you such a diet as a cholesterol-free diet, you should carefully consider his advice.
What causes high cholesterol?
Contrary to popular belief, it is not only nutrition that contributes to cholesterol levels. Of course, it is very important to choose the right products: for example, you should not abuse the saturated fats found in red meat, lard, sausage, confectionery, hard cheeses and many other products. People who are overweight and bad habits, with low physical activity, are at risk.
Cholesterol free diet
So what is a cholesterol-free diet, what foods can not be eaten with it? This is a diet in which a person refuses to consume saturated fats, cigarettes and alcohol. By and large, there are no strict restrictions, it is enough to adhere to several rules. It is advisable to combine a new diet with sports - this will only enhance the effect.
What can not be eaten with a cholesterol-free diet?
So, if your choice is a cholesterol-free diet, what foods should you exclude from the diet?
As already mentioned, you need to consume less saturated fats. These include animal fats, there are also a lot of them in coconut and palm oils. It is best to choose vegetable oils, especially olive oil, but they should not be abused.
A cholesterol-free diet for a week allows you to include meat in your diet. Bird should be preferred. Sometimes you can afford veal, lean beef or lean lamb, very rarely lean pork. You need to cut off all the fat from meat. From the menu should be excluded offal, meat semi-finished products, including sausages and smoked meats.
With elevated cholesterol, you should not eat squid and fish caviar - in extreme cases, you can eat them only several times a year. It is not necessary to exclude eggs from the menu, but still it is better to eat no more than four pieces per week. Refuse should also be from cream and sour cream.
The level of cholesterol in the blood rises when the level of sugar in the blood rises, and therefore with a cholesterol-free diet, you need to stop eating sweets. Alcohol is banned, with the exception of, for example, a small amount of good red wine, as well as coffee, natural tea, caffeinated and carbonated drinks.
What can you eat with a cholesterol-free diet?
If you are shown a cholesterol-free diet, the menu on your table must contain certain foods.
For example, an important component is fish. Especially useful are its fatty varieties saturated with Omega-3 fatty acids - flounder, tuna, cod, salmon, salmon. By the way, studies by many scientists have proven that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dairy products should also be included in the diet. You can opt for milk, yogurt and cottage cheese, as well as cheese and kefir with low fat content.
With a cholesterol-free diet, fresh fruits play an important role, vegetables can be either fresh or processed with a minimum amount of fat. In the daily diet should be at least 400 g of vegetables and fruits, as well as a certain amount of legumes.
From the side dishes, you should choose pasta, but only from durum wheat. You can also add wholemeal bread to your meals.
Nuts that contain unsaturated fatty acids are very healthy . Instead of sweets, you can eat dried fruits, but a couple of pieces a day of black or extra-black chocolate are allowed. Of the drinks, you should choose berry fruit drinks, herbal teas, uzvara and stewed fruit.
If you have a cholesterol-free diet, foods should be boiled, stewed or steamed, but it is undesirable to fry them. It’s enough to add herbs to taste, but salt should not be abused. When cooking, you need to control the amount of fat.
Cholesterol-free diet: menu
When switching to a new diet, you should preoccupy yourself with the selection of the diet for the first week, so that at the last moment you do not have to remain hungry or eat prohibited foods. A cholesterol-free diet is no exception. The menu for the week here is quite simple, so you do not have to look for rare ingredients in stores.
Monday:
For breakfast, you can drink a glass of milk and eat croutons. A slice of natural marmalade is suitable as a light dessert.
Dinner should consist of salad, it is useful to add boiled fish to it.
For dinner, it is permissible to eat spaghetti from hard varieties and, for example, stewed salmon. A nice addition would be a tomato salad.
Tuesday:
Breakfast allows you to drink a cup of coffee, but only without caffeine, as well as eat croutons with a slice of low-fat cheese.
For lunch, you can eat mashed potatoes with steamed meat . You can drink it with a glass of juice, always without sugar.
Dinner can be made easy: for example, prepare a vegetable salad and drink weak tea.
Wednesday:
For breakfast, eat an omelet with croutons and a cup of green tea.
Lunch should include vegetable soup, then treat yourself to boiled veal and a glass of juice.
For dinner, you can cook a vegetable salad with a slice of bread, and then eat baked pumpkin with carrots.
Thursday:
Carrot juice is perfect for breakfast, for satiety, you can add croutons to it.
For lunch, you can eat a salad of tomatoes, bell peppers and green onions, adding steam turkey cutlets to it.
A light dinner involves vinaigrette and tea.
Friday:
For breakfast, you can eat low-fat cottage cheese and drink a glass of citrus juice.
Dine should be vegetable soup and chicken breast, boiled or steamed.
For dinner, you need to be limited to a corncob and salad.
Saturday:
You can have breakfast with any porridge by adding a cup of decaffeinated coffee to it.
For lunch, you can make boiled fish, and use vegetable salad as a side dish for it.
The dinner is again vegetarian: you should choose brown rice and a plate of vinaigrette.
Sunday:
You should start the morning with breakfast consisting of low-fat yogurt and a glass of carrot juice.
Baked pumpkin with carrots will be a great dinner, and you can add a piece of boiled fish to it.
For dinner, you can cook stuffed peppers and a vegetable salad.
Cholesterol-Free Recipes
When you get used to this type of diet as a cholesterol-free diet, recipes you can choose more complex.
Zucchini Puree Soup
For 4 portions of soup, you need to take 2 zucchini (regular zucchini), 2-3 potatoes, small onions, 1 liter of water, herbs, 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, a pinch of salt.
Pour water into the pan. Wash, peel, chop the zucchini and put in the pan, then add the onions, then the potatoes. The pan must be closed and cook over low heat until the vegetables are soft, then salt a little and hold for another 5 minutes. Then you need to remove the pan, add vegetable oil and lower the soup into a blender, turning it into mashed potatoes. Serve with herbs.
Bulgarian salad
For 4 servings of salad you need to take 30 g of pine nuts, 250 g of lettuce, 3 apples, 200 g of feta cheese, 2 tablespoons of lemon and orange juice, a clove of garlic, 20 g of green onions, 100 ml of low-fat yogurt, 2 sweet bell peppers.
Pine nuts must be cleaned and fried in a skillet without oil. At this time, wash the lettuce leaves and peel large, peel the apples, remove the core, sprinkle with lemon juice and cut into cubes. From pepper you need to cut seeds and cut it into strips, cheese - into cubes. Chop green onions, crush the garlic in the garlic clove. Mix everything, pour over yogurt and orange juice.
Red fish baked in nuts
For 4 servings, you need to take 800 g of red fish fillet, 100 g of walnuts, juice of one lemon, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, seasoning to taste (preferably without salt), 2-3 cloves of garlic (optional).
Crush the garlic with garlic press and mix with lemon juice. Fillet should be poured with a mixture of juice and garlic, cover with cling film and leave for about half an hour. At this time, walnuts should be chopped, add vegetable oil and spices to them, mix. Juice should be drained from the fillet, roll the fish in nuts and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
The result of a cholesterol-free diet
A cholesterol-free diet can help the body establish the proper functioning of organs. With proper diet, you can positive trends: your health will improve, and pathological symptoms, if any, will gradually disappear.