Cholesterol in our diet

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Cholesterol is a type of fat that’s very important for our body, involved in such vital processes like cell formation and the synthesis of hormones, amongst other functions.
Usually when the doctor tells us we have high cholesterol he’s referring to high LDL, or bad cholesterol, in the blood. But there is another kind of cholesterol, HDL, or good cholesterol, which amongst other things will help reduce the levels of the previous one.
An excess of cholesterol in our blood will make it accumulate on the walls of our arteries, complicating the functioning of our heart and brain, and even causing heart attack.
How do we generate cholesterol?
There are two ways to generate bad cholesterol in our body: the one we get directly from our food in the form of saturated fats, and the one our own body produces.
On the one hand, the consumption of products which are high in saturated fats such as red meat, cold meat, cheese, milk, pastries, and especially highly processed industrial products with added “trans” fats that are very difficult for our body to eliminate like industrial confectionery.
On the other hand our body has the ability to transform sugars or carbohydrates into fat, as energy reserves. Some of these sugars can be transformed into bad cholesterol, the proportion depending on each person's metabolism. This usually happens when our body gets more sugar than it needs or than it can consume, for instance when we overindulge eating, we have too much dinner, or dessert after a full meal, or just an excess of sugar-rich products like sugar itself, soft drinks, sweets, pastries, or even fruit if consumed in excess.
How to reduce cholesterol?
• Eating the amount our body needs.
• Having light and more frequent meals.
• Avoiding desserts.
• Having an early and light dinner.
• Increasing the fiber intake will help us reduce cholesterol due to its ability to absorb it and prevent it from passing into our blood.
• Green vegetables cooked lightly will be fundamental due to their high fiber content.
• Round and root vegetables like onion, carrot or pumpkin in the form of soups will give us a natural and healthy sweetness while helping us mobilize the stored fat.
• Legumes not only contain fiber but will also provide healthy fats that will help reduce the bad ones.
• Whole grains, such as rice, millet or barley amongst others, will be fundamental because of their fiber content and their ability to give us a more stable and lasting energy.
• If animal protein is consumed, the recommendation is a moderate consumption of oily fish such as sardines.
• The oil we should use is extra virgin olive oil, because of its high content of healthy fats. But its consumption should be moderate.
• The most appropriate cooking styles in general will be blanching, boiling, stewing with water, sautéing for a short time, vegetable soups or en papillote. Avoid frying or sautéing for a long time with a lot of oil.



David Gasol Mestres

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