How to treat high cholesterol?

There are two types of high cholesterol: high-density and low-density. High-density cholesterol has a protective effect on the cardiovascular system, so it is good. The latter is bad and can increase the risk of coronary heart disease. A normal cholesterol level is between 144 and 200 per unit. Many people now have high cholesterol, so how to treat high cholesterol? Now let’s talk about it in detail.

It is generally caused by diet. High cholesterol is very dangerous and can easily cause atherosclerosis, hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and increase the risk of vascular complications in the heart, brain, and lower limbs in diabetic patients. Therefore, in addition to lipid-lowering drug treatment, family dietary therapy should not be ignored.

For patients with hypercholesterolemia, where only the blood cholesterol level is elevated but the triglyceride level is normal, the key points of dietary treatment are:

First, limit food cholesterol to less than 200 mg per day. Patients should avoid or eat less foods high in cholesterol, such as animal brains, spinal cords, internal organs, egg yolks (each egg yolk contains 250-300 mg of cholesterol), shellfish (such as clams, snails, etc.) and mollusks (such as squid, cuttlefish, caviar, etc.). On the other hand, patients should consume appropriate amounts of nutrients with low cholesterol content, such as lean pork, beef, duck, chicken, fish and milk. The cholesterol content of these foods is not high. For example, each bottle of milk contains only 30 mg, and several other foods also contain only about 100 mg of cholesterol per 100 grams. There is no need to be overly cautious, but of course don't eat too much.

Secondly, limit animal fat and increase vegetable oil appropriately. Calculations show that if animal oil is not used for cooking, it is ideal for each patient to eat 500 to 750g of vegetable oil (soybean oil, corn oil, rapeseed oil, etc.) per month. Although vegetable oil is good, it is not advisable to consume too much, otherwise it will bring adverse effects.

Third, eat more vegetables, fruits and melons to increase fiber intake.

Fourth, eat more foods that have the effect of lowering cholesterol, such as soybeans and their products, onions, garlic, golden cauliflower (grass head), shiitake mushrooms, and fungus. Some of these foods also have anticoagulant effects, which are also beneficial for preventing thrombosis and coronary heart disease.

Patients should have a balanced diet, avoid eating foods with high fat content, try to eat low-fat, low-calorie foods, try not to eat animal offal, no more than one egg a day, do not eat animal oil, eat more fish, beans, lean meat, seafood, fruits, etc., and do not eat more than eight grams of salt a day. Proper exercise is also crucial.