Shopping

[Junie2]

Hi

My cholesterol is high.

I am forever reading food labels.

Is there a card or guide or app I can take shopping with me to help.

[sandybrown]

Simple guide is the traffic light colour code. But if you are on LCHF diet then you need to look for high fat food, no rice, not bread no pasta!, look out for hidden and free sugar in pre prepared food. Some of the drinks has high sugar as well.

Cheese, 100% butter, full cream, blue top milk, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, nuts and so on.

LCHF diet do work!

[Junie2 in reply to sandybrown]

Thanks so much

[sos007 Ambassador]

The solution to lowering cholesterol is a lifestyle change that includes a move to a whole-foods, primarily, plant-based diet, coupled with daily exercise.

If you are reading labels, that means you are buying too many packaged goods. A whole-foods diet means buying unpackaged, real fruits and vegetables, and in small quantities - lean chicken and fish, then cooking them yourself.

That said, some packaged goods are acceptable - beans, lentils, chick-peas - but just stored in water, not prepared, ready to eat, in some kind of sauce.

In general, if the carbohydrate number is more than 5 times the 'fibre' number, then what you are buying is too high in sugars or simple carbohydrates. Up to 10 times, is acceptable (although not optimal), but anything greater than 10 times should not be consumed.

Example, you are looking for bread and see 'whole-wheat' on the label. Read the nutritional label and do the math I suggested above. Also look at the ingredient list. The first items listed are greatest in quantity. If you see 'sugar' or a word ending in 'ol' or 'ose', then that is a form of sugar. You must avoid sugar at all cost.

I had a triple bypass in 2015 and 5 stents; I changed my lifestyle as noted in my posts and lost 40 lbs and got off of all of my medications.

Read all of my posts here:

healthunlocked.com/user/sos007

[Junie2 in reply to sos007]

Thanks for the information very helpful. I am a vegetarian also. And have IBS.

[sos007 Ambassador]

LCHF diets may be very risky for certain individuals - read what the heart and stroke foundation has to say about them:

"Are there health risks associated with it?

A banting diet is a LCHF diet based on predominantly saturated fat sources and animal protein sources and it is usually (often inadvertently) moderate to high in protein. LCHF diets have not been thoroughly researched over the long-term (> 2 years), which means we can only make predictions based on current knowledge. Eating patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, and vegetarian diets have been researched over extended periods and proven successful in reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and various other lifestyle conditions.

A LCHF diet may affect individuals differently, depending on their medical history, their family history, and the specific food choices they make as part of the diet. These are some of the POSSIBLE consequences of a LCHF diet in individuals:

People with genetically elevated LDL cholesterol or with existing heart disease may increase their risk of atherosclerosis substantially by increasing their saturated fat intake. (Genetic defects leading to raised cholesterol are more common in some South African communities than anywhere else in the world!)

Individuals with a genetically elevated iron level may incur liver damage when they increase their red meat intake significantly.

People with asymptomatic undiagnosed kidney disease (a common condition often present in people with diabetes), may accelerate their kidney disease by an even modest increase in protein intake.

Decreasing intake of dietary fibre may increase the risk of bowel conditions such as constipation, diverticular disease and bowel cancer.

Liver is often recommended as an affordable LCHF food choice but is also a very rich source of Vitamin A. Consuming liver during early pregnancy may cause birth defects. As little as 20-100g liver exceeds the World Health Organisation recommended maximum daily intake of vitamin A during pregnancy.

Very restrictive high fat diets may be low in various vitamins and minerals, depending on which foods are being eliminated.

Diets high in animal protein, sodium and/or low in calcium may increase the risk for osteoporosis.

Even the best diets can be badly executed. We recommend that anyone who attempts to follow an extreme diet such as a LCHF diet does so under medical supervision. Individuals with diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure are advised to monitor their kidney function, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol."

heartfoundation.co.za/topic...

[sos007 Ambassador]

Read this dietary guideline from the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation:

heartandstroke.ca/get-healt...

[Junie2 in reply to sos007]

Thanks

[Junie2]

Thanks Dottie