June 15, 2006
by Angela Hochreiter MPH, RD and Beth Allen - YKHC's Healthy Hearts Program
In the last article, we wrote about measuring the cholesterol in your blood.
High blood cholesterol raises your chances of heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. While cholesterol is in your blood, it is also in the food you eat. We call this dietary cholesterol. Scientists have found that if we eat a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol, we are likely to have high blood cholesterol.
Saturated fat is found mostly in foods that come from animals. Usually, you can see this fat on the food. Try to pick meats that have less fat, like round steak or low-fat ground beef. Avoid the high fat meats like chuck, ribs, sausage, and bacon.
You can reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat by cutting the fat off meat before cooking and throwing it away. If you are cooking ground beef, pour off the fat and rinse the cooked ground beef in hot water before using it in your recipe.
Take both the skin and fat off of chicken, turkey, ducks and other birds before you cook them. When making soups, stews or gravies, cool them, then skim the fat off the top.
Fat free milk gives you all the nutrition of whole milk without the cholesterol and saturated fat. It is easy to substitute dairy products made with fat-free milk. Try frozen yogurt instead of ice cream; low fat, plain yogurt instead of sour cream; and cheeses made with fat-free milk. Soft margarine or vegetable oil should be used instead of butter or lard.
Another type of fat, "trans fat," also raises cholesterol. Trans fat is found in a variety of baked goods (cookies, pies, crackers), fried foods, and stick margarine. Choose tub (soft) margarine instead of stick (hard) margarine and look for "trans fat free" spreads.
Dietary cholesterol is found only in animal products. Egg yolks and organ meats are high in cholesterol and should only be eaten in small quantities. Limit yourself to no more than four egg yolks in one week. Egg substitutes are available that have no cholesterol. Because mayonnaise is made with eggs, it is high in cholesterol (as well as fat). Look for low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, or skip the mayonnaise on sandwiches and use mustard instead.
It is easy to reduce the saturated fat and cholesterol that you consume! Instead of bacon and eggs for breakfast, try cereal with fat free milk and fruit. If you really can't give up the bacon and eggs, try lowfat turkey bacon and scrambled eggs made from an egg substitute. Try oven bread instead of fry bread. Instead of snacking on chips or French fries, eat an apple or a peach. Or, try the fat free chips or chips that are baked instead of fried. Many delicious foods do not have any cholesterol or saturated fat. These include fruits, vegetables, grain, and cereals.
When you make changes for yourself, you can also help your whole family by preparing foods that are lower in cholesterol and saturated fat. Everyone will reduce their risk for heart disease.
In next month's column, we will talk about how being physically active keeps your heart healthy.
Please contact us with any questions, comments or request to do a presentation at 543-6999 or 1-800-478-4471 ext. 6999. Joining the Healthy Hearts team is now open for Alaska Natives or American Indians diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes ready to work towards their goals.