Affordable low cholesterol diet - Heart Attack Prevention - Reviews similar to Medifast and other dietary supplements.

Takeheart Health Check

A sensible diet for reducing cholesterol in coronary heart disease prevention.

Home Page The dietary recommendations made by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food panel on diet and cardiovascular disease, intended for the population as a whole, state that total dietary fats should be reduced to 35% or less of the total energy intake, saturated fat intake no more than one third of fat intake, and cholesterol intake to less than 300mgs daily. Early trials of diet in patients with CHD utilising reduced saturated fat intake did not give convincing results. More recent trials, utilising diets low in saturated fat and supplemented with polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly from omega-3 fatty acids (three helpings of oily fish per week, fish oil capsules and alpha-linoleic acid margarine) have shown significant reductions in coronary mortality and improved survival. (478) If you are considering any type of diet plan, it is always good to check with your physician and to read reviews on the diet plan of your choice. For example, if you plan to try the Medifast diet, it would be good to read the Medifast reviews before starting the diet.
Use the following links or the "Find" button above to locate paticular items of your diet. The first column are foods that you are allowed, the second for those you can take in moderation and the third those to avoid.

Fats Meats Eggs and dairy foods Fish (412) Fruit and vegetables Nuts Cereal products Desserts
Beverages Sweets Spices and dressings Recipes
But first a few general tips to reduce the fat in your diet.

Always choose lean cuts of meat and trim off fat before cooking.
Eat smaller portions of meat. Extend meat and poultry dishes by using pulses, vegetables and cereals.
Eat chicken, turkey and fish (412) more often as these are lower in fat than meat. Remove all skin from poultry.
Grill, steam, poach, bake, braise, microwave or casserole instead of frying or roasting with extra fat.
Substitute polyunsaturated margarine for butter and use in moderation.
Use polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oil in moderation.
Use skimmed milk instead of full-cream milk. Children under five should not use skimmed milk.
Replace ordinary hard cheeses with low-fat or reduced fat varieties.
Roast without adding fat by wrapping food in foil or roasting bags to retain juices and prevent drying out. Meat can be cooked on a rack over a bain-marie.
Low-fat sauces can be made with mixing flour or cornflour with cold water, skimmed milk or stock before cooking to thicken.
Skim off fat from stews and soups by removing it with absorbent kitchen paper or, if the dish is allowed to cool first, the fat could be taken off with a spoon.
Look out for new low-fat or reduced-fat products in the shops. Check labels for fat content and type of fat used in processed foods. A good guide is to choose made up dishes containing 5 grams fat or less per serving.

Allowed Daily Moderation Avoid

Fats Limit ALL fats. Oils or margarine labelled 'high in polyunsaturates'. Sunflower oil, corn oil, soya oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil. Low-fat spreads. Butter, dripping, lard, suet, palm oil, margarines not high in polyunsaturates, cooking or vegetable oil of unknown origin. Hydrogenated fats and oils.

Meats Chicken, turkey, veal, rabbit, game. Lean beef, bacon, ham, pork, lamb; lean mince, liver. Visible fat on meat (including crackling), breast of lamb, belly pork, streaky bacon, sausages, salami, paté, luncheon meat, duck, goose, pork pies, meat pasties. Skin on poultry.

Eggs and dairy foods Skimmed milk. Low-fat cheeses (e.g. cottage cheese), quark (skimmed milk soft cheese), curd cheese. Egg white. Very-low- fat yoghurt. Semi-skimmed milk. Feta and ricotta cheese; Parmesan in small quantities; half fat cheeses (fat content 20-40% dry weight). Two whole eggs a week. Low-fat yoghurt. Full-cream milk, evaporated or condensed milk, cream, imitation cream. Regular fat cheeses, cream cheeses. Full-fat yoghurt.

Fish (412) All white fish, e.g. cod, haddock, plaice. Oily fish, e.g. herring, mackerel, sardines, tuna, salmon. Fish fried in suitable oil. Oysters, mussels. Occasional scampi, prawns, shrimps, lobster. Fish roe, fish fried in hard fats.

Fruit and vegetables All fresh and frozen vegetables. Peas, beans, sweetcorn. Dried beans of all kinds )e.g. haricot, red kidney, butter beans), lentils, chick peas, are particularly high in 'soluble fibre'. Jacket or boiled potatoes - eat skins wherever you can. Fresh fruit, unsweetened tinned fruit, dried fruit. Chips and roast potatoes cooked in suitable oil or polyunsaturated fat. Avocado pears, fruit in syrup; crystallised fruit. Chips or roast potatoes cooked in solid fat. Oven chips. Potato crisps.

Nuts Walnuts, chestnuts. Almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts. Coconut.

Cereal Products Wholemeal flour, wholemeal bread, wholegrain cereals, oatmeal, cornmeal, porridge oats, sweetcorn, wholegrain rice and pasta, crispbreads, oatcakes, matzos. White flour, white bread, sugary breakfast cereals, oatbran, white rice and pasta, plain semi-sweet biscuits, water biscuits. Fancy breads, e.g. croissants, brioches: savoury cheese biscuits.

Desserts Low-fat puddings, e.g. jelly, sorbet, skimmed milk pudding. Low-fat yoghurt. Low-fat sauces. Cakes, pastry, puddings, biscuits and sauces made with suitable margarine or oil. Low-fat icecreams. Home-made snacks with polyunsaturated fat. Commercially made cakes and biscuits made with saturated fats. Suet dumplings and puddings: butter and cream sauces. All proprietary puddings and sauces. Snacks deep fried in solid fats. Dairy icecream.

Beverages Tea, coffee with skimmed milk, mineral water, slimline or sugar-free soft drinks, unsweetened fruit juice. Clear soups, home-made vegetable soup. Low alcohol beer. Sweet soft drinks, low-fat malted drinks or low-fat chocolate (occasionally). Packet soups, meat soups. Alcohol. Irish coffee. Full-fat malted drinks, drinking chocolate. Cream soups. Non-dairy coffee whitener

Sweets Clear pickles. Sugar-free sweeteners, e.g. saccharin tablets or liquid; aspartame sweetener. Sweet pickles and chutney; jam, marmalade, honey, syrup, marzipan, peanut butter, lemom curd. Boiled sweets, pastilles, peppermints. Sugar, sorbitol, glucose, fructose. Mincemeat containing suet. Chocolate spreads, candy bars, toffees, fudge, butterscotch, chocolate, coconaut bars.
Spices and dressings Herbs, spices, mustard, pepper, vinegar. Low-fat dressings, e.g. lemon or low-fat yoghurt. Low-calorie salad cream or low-calorie mayonnaise. Meat and fish pastes; bottled sauces. French dressing, ordinary salad cream, mayonnaise or soy sauce. Cream or cream cheese dressings.

A Couple of Cook Books
Low Fat, Low Cholesterol Cooking by Christine France. Published by Lorenz in 2001
Low Cholesterol Cooking also by Cristine France. Published by Southwater in 2003
Some misconceptions about bad cholesterol

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© G.M.Clayton 1997
GMC Register Number 0147091

	Allowed Daily	Moderation	Avoid
Fats	Limit ALL fats.	Oils or margarine labelled 'high in polyunsaturates'. Sunflower oil, corn oil, soya oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil. Low-fat spreads.	Butter, dripping, lard, suet, palm oil, margarines not high in polyunsaturates, cooking or vegetable oil of unknown origin. Hydrogenated fats and oils.
Meats	Chicken, turkey, veal, rabbit, game.	Lean beef, bacon, ham, pork, lamb; lean mince, liver.	Visible fat on meat (including crackling), breast of lamb, belly pork, streaky bacon, sausages, salami, paté, luncheon meat, duck, goose, pork pies, meat pasties. Skin on poultry.
Eggs and dairy foods	Skimmed milk. Low-fat cheeses (e.g. cottage cheese), quark (skimmed milk soft cheese), curd cheese. Egg white. Very-low- fat yoghurt.	Semi-skimmed milk. Feta and ricotta cheese; Parmesan in small quantities; half fat cheeses (fat content 20-40% dry weight). Two whole eggs a week. Low-fat yoghurt.	Full-cream milk, evaporated or condensed milk, cream, imitation cream. Regular fat cheeses, cream cheeses. Full-fat yoghurt.
Fish (412)	All white fish, e.g. cod, haddock, plaice. Oily fish, e.g. herring, mackerel, sardines, tuna, salmon.	Fish fried in suitable oil. Oysters, mussels. Occasional scampi, prawns, shrimps, lobster.	Fish roe, fish fried in hard fats.
Fruit and vegetables	All fresh and frozen vegetables. Peas, beans, sweetcorn. Dried beans of all kinds )e.g. haricot, red kidney, butter beans), lentils, chick peas, are particularly high in 'soluble fibre'. Jacket or boiled potatoes - eat skins wherever you can. Fresh fruit, unsweetened tinned fruit, dried fruit.	Chips and roast potatoes cooked in suitable oil or polyunsaturated fat. Avocado pears, fruit in syrup; crystallised fruit.	Chips or roast potatoes cooked in solid fat. Oven chips. Potato crisps.
Nuts	Walnuts, chestnuts.	Almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts.	Coconut.
Cereal Products	Wholemeal flour, wholemeal bread, wholegrain cereals, oatmeal, cornmeal, porridge oats, sweetcorn, wholegrain rice and pasta, crispbreads, oatcakes, matzos.	White flour, white bread, sugary breakfast cereals, oatbran, white rice and pasta, plain semi-sweet biscuits, water biscuits.	Fancy breads, e.g. croissants, brioches: savoury cheese biscuits.
Desserts	Low-fat puddings, e.g. jelly, sorbet, skimmed milk pudding. Low-fat yoghurt. Low-fat sauces.	Cakes, pastry, puddings, biscuits and sauces made with suitable margarine or oil. Low-fat icecreams. Home-made snacks with polyunsaturated fat.	Commercially made cakes and biscuits made with saturated fats. Suet dumplings and puddings: butter and cream sauces. All proprietary puddings and sauces. Snacks deep fried in solid fats. Dairy icecream.
Beverages	Tea, coffee with skimmed milk, mineral water, slimline or sugar-free soft drinks, unsweetened fruit juice. Clear soups, home-made vegetable soup. Low alcohol beer.	Sweet soft drinks, low-fat malted drinks or low-fat chocolate (occasionally). Packet soups, meat soups. Alcohol.	Irish coffee. Full-fat malted drinks, drinking chocolate. Cream soups. Non-dairy coffee whitener
Sweets	Clear pickles. Sugar-free sweeteners, e.g. saccharin tablets or liquid; aspartame sweetener.	Sweet pickles and chutney; jam, marmalade, honey, syrup, marzipan, peanut butter, lemom curd. Boiled sweets, pastilles, peppermints. Sugar, sorbitol, glucose, fructose.	Mincemeat containing suet. Chocolate spreads, candy bars, toffees, fudge, butterscotch, chocolate, coconaut bars.
Spices and dressings	Herbs, spices, mustard, pepper, vinegar. Low-fat dressings, e.g. lemon or low-fat yoghurt. Low-calorie salad cream or low-calorie mayonnaise.	Meat and fish pastes; bottled sauces. French dressing, ordinary salad cream, mayonnaise or soy sauce.	Cream or cream cheese dressings.