Food Guidelines to Reduce LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides To reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol in your blood: ξ Limit saturated fat (fatty meats, whole milk, cheese, cream), trans fat (shortening, stick margarine, donuts, foods fried in restaurants), and cholesterol (eggs, liver, other organ meats) in the foods you eat. ξ Eat foods high in fiber (whole grains, vegetables, beans, fruits, nuts). ξ Lose weight if you are overweight. ξ Get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. To reduce triglycerides in your blood: ξ Lose weight if you are overweight. ξ Get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. ξ Avoid sweet drinks like soda, fruit juice, fruit drinks, Kool-Aid, and energy drinks. ξ Limit the amount of starchy food (bread, pasta, rice, potato, corn, crackers) and sweets (cake, cookies, pie, candy) that you eat. ξ Limit alcohol to no more than 1-2 drinks per day. Recommended Foods Not Recommended Foods Proteins – Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dried beans Protein foods should be limited to ¼ of the space on your plate, so use small portions. Your serving of protein should be about the size of a deck of cards. Prepare meats by baking, broiling, grilling or roasting. ξ Fish, all types –fresh, frozen, canned ξ Shellfish - limit shrimp to once per week ξ Chicken, turkey – skinless ξ Lean beef and pork – sirloin, tenderloin, round, extra lean ground beef, ham ξ Dried beans (navy, kidney, black, pinto), split peas, and lentils ξ Fat-free refried beans ξ Fish – breaded and deep-fried ξ Poultry – with skin or deep-fried ξ Fatty beef and pork – T-bone, prime rib, rib eye, regular ground beef, ribs, liver ξ Sausage, bacon, bratwurst, hot dogs, bologna ξ Refried beans, unless fat-free ξ Baked beans with fatty meat added Eggs ξ Egg whites, egg substitutes ξ Egg yolks – limit to 4 per week Dairy Products ξ Skim or 1% milk ξ Low fat or fat-free yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese ξ Part-skim cheese – 5 gm fat/ounce or less (mozzarella, farmers, string cheese) ξ 2% or whole milk ξ Full-fat yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese ξ Full-fat cheese (most cheddar, colby, muenster, brick) Fats and Oils Fats and oils add flavor, but they are high in calories. Use moderate amounts of any type of fat to keep calories low. ξ Soft tub margarine ξ Liquid vegetable oil (olive, canola, corn, soybean) ξ Salad dressings without cheese or cream ξ Mayonnaise ξ Gravy made from broth with fat skimmed off ξ Stick margarine, shortening (trans fats) ξ Butter, lard ξ Coconut or palm oil ξ Regular gravy Nuts or seeds ξ Any type, but limit to a handful per day ξ Peanut butter, almond butter Starchy foods Starchy foods should be limited to ¼ of the space on your plate, so use small servings. Some vegetables are included in this group because they are high in starch and calories. ξ Whole grain bread, rolls, English muffins ξ Whole grain crackers, low in fat ξ Whole grain pasta or noodles, brown rice ξ Muffins made with vegetable oils ξ Oatmeal, regular or unsweetened instant ξ Whole grain unsweetened cereals ξ Potato, sweet potato, corn, peas ξ Any starchy food made with butter, lard, cheese, or shortening ξ Ramen noodles, chow mein noodles ξ Sweetened cereals and oatmeal ξ Croissants, sweet rolls, donuts ξ Noodle or rice mixes with cheese or butter ξ French fries Fruit Aim for 1-2 cups of fruit each day. Fruit is a healthy food, but too much fruit could raise triglycerides. Use whole fruit instead of juice to get more fiber in your diet. ξ Fresh/frozen fruit, no sugar added ξ Fruit canned in light syrup or canned in fruit juice ξ Dried fruit – limit serving size because sugar content is high. ξ More than 2 cups of fruit per day Vegetables Vegetables should fill ½ of the space on your plate at meals. Vegetables also make good snacks. “Eat the rainbow” by including a wide variety of different colored vegetables – green, yellow, red, purple – to provide the best variety of vitamins and minerals. Prepare vegetables by steaming, roasting, grilling, or stir-frying (with olive or canola oil). Remember that potato, corn, sweet potato and peas are starches and need to be limited. ξ Fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables without added salt ξ Avocados - they contain healthy fats ξ Olives – limit use, high in salt ξ Frozen vegetables with cheese or butter sauces ξ Canned vegetables with added salt Desserts or Snacks All desserts and snacks should be used in small portions because they are high in sugar and calories and can raise your triglycerides. Use no more than 1 small dessert per day. ξ Reduced fat ice cream or frozen yogurt ξ Cakes or cookies made with egg whites and oil ξ Trans fat free chips, pretzels ξ Popcorn made with oil, no butter ξ Ice cream or frozen custard ξ Cakes, pies or cookies made with butter, lard, shortening and /or egg yolks. ξ Chips made with trans fat Beverages Sweet drinks contain large amounts of sugar. Twelve ounces of regular soda and many unsweetened fruit juices contain 10 teaspoons of sugar. The sugar in these drinks raises your triglyceride level and makes it harder to lose weight. ξ Water ξ Coffee, tea, herbal tea without added cream or sugar ξ Fruit juice – limit to 4 ounces per day ξ Zero calorie soft drinks, drink mixes, flavored water ξ Coffee or tea drinks with cream or sugar added ξ Soda, fruit drinks, Kool-Aid, flavored water, and energy drinks that contain sugar Alcohol Alcohol increases the amount of triglycerides that your body produces. Men should have no more than 2 drinks per day and women should have no more than 1 drink per day. One drink equals one 12 oz. beer (light or regular), 4 oz. of wine, 1.5 oz. of 80-proof spirits, or 1 oz. of 100-proof spirits. Teach Back: What is the most important thing you learned from this handout? What changes will you make in your diet/lifestyle, based on what you learned today? If you are a UW Health patient and have more questions please contact UW Health at one of the phone numbers listed below. You can also visit our website at www.uwhealth.org/nutrition. Nutrition clinics for UW Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) and American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH) can be reached at: (608) 890-5500 Nutrition clinics for UW Medical Foundation (UWMF) can be reached at: (608) 287-2770 Your health care team may have given you this information as part of your care. If so, please use it and call if you have any questions. If this information was not given to you as part of your care, please check with your doctor. This is not medical advice. This is not to be used for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Because each person’s health needs are different, you should talk with your doctor or others on your health care team when using this information. If you have an emergency, please call 911. Copyright 2/2015 University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority. All rights reserved. Produced by the Clinical Nutrition Services Department and the Department of Nursing HF#519