Diet plan for lowering blood lipids

The core dietary principle for lowering blood lipids has never been to be completely vegetarian and give up all meat and eggs, but to "control the intake of saturated fat and trans fat, ensure adequate dietary fiber and Omega-3, and limit exposure to free sugars." There are no absolutely forbidden foods. As long as the ratio is reasonable, most people with non-pathological dyslipidemia will see significant improvement in their indicators in 3-6 months.

My aunt's physical examination last year showed that her total cholesterol was 6.8mmol/L, and her low-density lipoprotein was 1.2 units higher than the normal value. The doctor said that she doesn't need to take medicine for the time being, and that she should adjust her diet for 3 months before having a follow-up examination. At first, she heard from the elders that people with high blood fat should not eat egg yolks or eat fatty meats, so she threw away the egg yolks every day, and even stopped eating meat. She only had white porridge with vegetables. However, after two months of reexamination, the index only dropped by 0.2, and she often felt dizzy and weak. Later, I asked my friends in the nutrition department to adjust the plan. I did not give up eggs or completely stop meat. When I checked again in the third month, everything was back to the normal range.

There are actually two mainstream views on diets for lowering blood lipids. There is no one right or wrong, it’s just that the applicable groups are different. Most clinicians of the older generation will emphasize strict restrictions on high-cholesterol foods, such as animal offal, crab roe, and egg yolk. This logic is actually aimed at people with poor cholesterol metabolism, such as patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Their body's efficiency in processing cholesterol is much lower than that of ordinary people. Extra intake of food cholesterol will indeed push up blood indicators. However, in recent years, the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" and the American Heart Association's research have also clearly stated that the impact of food-source cholesterol on blood cholesterol for ordinary people is only 10%-20%. What really dominates blood lipid levels is the metabolic efficiency of the saturated fat and trans fat you consume. Therefore, for ordinary people with high blood lipids, it is perfectly fine to eat a complete boiled egg a day. Throwing away egg yolks is really wasteful and unnecessary.

Rather than worrying about whether you can eat egg yolks, you should pay more attention to the trans fats hidden in various processed foods. This stuff is really responsible for raising blood lipids. When I was working on a project in the past two years, I went downstairs every morning to buy hand pancakes and grilled sausages, and the takeout at noon was rice bowls with thick oil and red sauce. At the end of the year, my physical examination showed that my triglyceride level had reached 2.3mmol/L, and the low density had reached a borderline elevated level. At that time, I was still thinking about giving up eggs first, but my friend in the nutrition department told me that it would be better if I stopped the pancakes and milk tea first. Only later did I realize that the trans fat in the shortening in hand cakes, the non-dairy cream in milk tea, the shortening bread sold in cake shops, and the fried chicken steak skin that I often eat are much more efficient in raising blood lipids than egg yolks. I stopped processing these foods and switched to oatmeal with no additives and a hard-boiled egg in the morning. When ordering takeout at noon, I made a special note to add less oil. When I checked in two months, it was all normal.

Many people immediately go vegetarian as soon as they hear that they have high blood lipids. In fact, it is really not necessary. I met an Aunt Zhang at a community free clinic before. She had been a vegetarian for three months. Not only did her blood lipids not drop, but her total cholesterol also increased by 0.5mmol/L. When I asked her, I found out that she was afraid that vegetarian dishes would be tasteless, so she put two spoons of peanut oil in every dish she cooked. She also ate fried vegetarian meatballs, braised tofu every day, and occasionally ate processed vegetarian meat snacks. You must know that vegetable oil is also fat, with 1 gram containing 9 calories. If you eat too much, it will be converted into blood lipids and stored. Those vegetarian meat snacks that add a lot of palm oil and salt have a greater blood lipid-raising effect than eating lean pork.

Recently, many people have said that low-carb diet can reduce blood lipids very quickly. A friend of mine also tried it and his triglycerides dropped from 3.1 to 1.7 in the first month. It is indeed effective. But after carrying it for three months, he couldn't stand it anymore. He was in a bad mood every day, lost hair, and was constipated. Later, he slowly added whole grains back, and his indicators did not rebound. In fact, this matter depends on personal suitability. If you don’t like rice and noodles, and can tolerate eating more vegetables and high-quality protein, then it is no problem to adjust the index with low carbon in the short term. If you can’t live without rice and steamed buns, quitting will make you prone to overeating. It is better to replace half of the white rice and white flour with whole grains such as corn, sweet potato, and brown rice. It will increase your blood sugar slowly and supplement dietary fiber. It will not be uncomfortable if you insist on it for a long time.

If you really want to implement it into daily meals, you don’t need to memorize complicated formulas, just make up a simple combination: one punch of whole grain staple food, one punch of high-quality protein (lean beef, skinless chicken, fish, tofu are all included), two punches of dark green vegetables, for cooking Spray the oil bottle, two or three times each time is enough. Eat deep-sea fish twice a week, the size of a palm each time. If you don’t like fish, eat a small handful of original nuts every day, about 10 almonds or two walnuts. Don’t eat too much, after all, nuts are also high in calories.

To be honest, the blood-fat-lowering diet is really not a chore that requires persistence. I don’t have to say that I can’t eat it when my relatives pick up a piece of braised pork during the holidays. I just eat it once in a while to satisfy my craving. In the next few days, I can make up for it by eating more vegetables and walking a few steps. After all, a truly useful solution is a habit that lasts a lifetime, right?