# Foods that will lower cholesterol fat



## Scott1 (Feb 20, 2010)

I've often felt (not scientifically verified) that God has placed foods we would normally eat in His creation that would counterbalance high cholesterol.

By eating in a temperate and thankful way, one could eat meat, eggs and items with cholesterol and not develop high cholesterol or have to rely on "maintenance" medications to lower it.

Several sources, including the Mayo Clinic seem to verify that.

Here is a list of foods, incorporated regularly as lifestyle diet, that can help to do that, allow one to still eat the other things and not imbalance cholesterol levels.

A cross section from these articles:
(not in any particular order)

1) eat oatmeal regularly
2) substitute olive oil for most other kinds of cooking oil
3) eat fish a couple times a week
4) generously use onions and garlic for flavoring 
5) chile, chili, and beans
6) piece of fruit most days
7) leguminous vegetables


Cholesterol: The top five foods to lower your numbers - MayoClinic.com

lower LDL-Cholesterol Naturally – Try 7 Foods

9 Foods that Lower Cholesterol - iVillage Your Total Health


So, would anyone want to concentrate on say, 5 of the 7 of these for a month and see if it lowers your cholesterol fat levels, and report back here? (Not suggesting anyone change any medication they are now taking, only that, whatever their situation, they monitor it, incorporating the substantial majority of these changes, and see if there is an effect).


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## jwithnell (Feb 20, 2010)

I'd say substitute olive oil for most kinds of _fats_ rather than cooking oil. Shortening as completely disappeared from my kitchen and often you can substitute the oil for butter, like when flavoring veggies.

I'm not likely to have a way of measuring my cholesterol levels, so I don't know if I'd be a good addition to your experiment, but I do support what you've mentioned.

Canola oil (often touted as the healthiest oil substitute) is highly processed, otherwise it would be inedible because of bitterness. So another area I've wondered about is the amount of changes foods undergo. We've all heard of the 98-year-old (fill in the blank) who ate eggs every morning and beef for the other two meals and is as fit as a fiddle. My theory is that he may be healthy because he is eating real eggs and beef and not a processed "egg product" and "healthy" beef granules substitute ....


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## Ivan (Feb 20, 2010)

Is pig lard bad?


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## Scott1 (Feb 20, 2010)

Ivan said:


> Is pig lard bad?


 
Likely you know the best answer is lard is not good for you. 

My theory, based on some empirical observation of others over time is that even it can be used very occasionally and not raise cholesterol fat levels. If one is making a lifestyle of the other varied food items, occasional use of lard (it is very good for pie crusts) is not going to affect cholesterol fat.

1) eat oatmeal regularly
2) substitute olive oil for most other kinds of cooking oil
3) eat fish a couple times a week
4) generously use onions and garlic for flavoring
5) chile, chili, and beans
6) piece of fruit most days
7) leguminous vegetables

Although it is not part of the suggested test here, I would recommend very much limiting (but not eliminating) pork.

The idea would be those who have been told they have high cholesterol levels to incorporate say 5 of 7 of the food items into their diet for a month and otherwise continue their normal eating patterns (e.g. eggs, meat, french fries, pastries, fried foods, etc.) and see if it brings cholesterol down.


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## Ivan (Feb 20, 2010)

Scott1 said:


> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> > Is pig lard bad?
> ...


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## Scott1 (Feb 20, 2010)

Ivan said:


> Scott1 said:
> 
> 
> > Ivan said:
> ...


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## jwithnell (Feb 20, 2010)

I'm definitely in the little every-once-in-a-while camp. And I think lard is healthier than the hydrogenated (or anything from a laboratory) fats. I don't use it because I don't have a good source -- what's sold in the store moves so slowly, I'm concerned the flavor would be "off."


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## Jack K (Feb 20, 2010)

Scott, your list is a great reminder to eat healthily. I'm all for that. Thanks for it! It inspires me to do better. Really.

Can you hear a "but..." coming?

But... I can't help but question whether Daniel 1 may be used to argue for a such a diet. Isn't the point of that passage that God made Daniel and his buddies strong and healthy and wise _in spite of_ an inferior diet that wouldn't normally produce those results?


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## Curt (Feb 20, 2010)

Ivan said:


> Is pig lard bad?


 
Not if it is spread on toast.


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## Scott1 (Feb 20, 2010)

Jack K said:


> Scott, your list is a great reminder to eat healthily. I'm all for that. Thanks for it! It inspires me to do better. Really.
> 
> Can you hear a "but..." coming?
> 
> But... I can't help but question whether Daniel 1 may be used to argue for a such a diet. Isn't the point of that passage that God made Daniel and his buddies strong and healthy and wise _in spite of_ an inferior diet that wouldn't normally produce those results?


 
You're right, we would not want to make a correlation with the modern day consensus diets of the original post. There are too many variations.

The only thing the passage in Daniel does seem to show is that there is health wisdom in eating a lot of leguminous vegetables.


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## au5t1n (Feb 20, 2010)

Scott, it is highly debated in the nutrition community whether eating animal fats and cholesterol are even bad for you at all. There was even a documentary that came out a while back called _Fat Head_ where a guy went on a 70% animal fat diet and lost weight and lost bad cholesterol. Fat Head


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## Scott1 (Feb 20, 2010)

Austin,

Will you then take the diet challenge to prove that out?


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## au5t1n (Feb 20, 2010)

Scott1 said:


> Austin,
> 
> Will you then take the diet challenge to prove that out?



I do try to eat real food and not processed food. So I eat a lot of meat and lots of vegetables. Also, it's better to buy real meat (not fat-free) and real butter rather than processed "heart healthy" low-cholesterol "butter." And the list goes on. I don't buy the lie that factories can process food that's better for you than what God made for our bodies in nature. And frankly, the science bears that out. Most of the stuff they put in processed "healthy" foods to replace the fat (which is good for you) is really bad for you.


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## Ivan (Feb 20, 2010)

Scott1 said:


> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> > Scott1 said:
> ...


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## kvanlaan (Feb 20, 2010)

> Canola oil (often touted as the healthiest oil substitute) is highly processed, otherwise it would be inedible because of bitterness. So another area I've wondered about is the amount of changes foods undergo. We've all heard of the 98-year-old (fill in the blank) who ate eggs every morning and beef for the other two meals and is as fit as a fiddle. My theory is that he may be healthy because he is eating real eggs and beef and not a processed "egg product" and "healthy" beef granules substitute ....



I think that we will see that the processing is what is getting us a lot of the time. Any bread my wife makes would not last a week on a shelf, it would be green and crawling by that time. How is it that much of the bread on the shelves of the supermarket is able to linger, mould-free, for weeks? Nasty.

Also, look at an Amish diet: lard, butter, beef, lots of sugar in the jams they eat. (They also walk to circumference of the earth in a 12-month period, but that's probably got nothing to do with it.) From what I understand, their life expectancy is almost at par with the highly-vitaminized Americans around them, but they don't use most of it.

PS - we render our own lard. Buy pig fat, get out a cast iron pot/pan, cut the fat into 1-in cubes, add about 1/2 c of water to start it boiling, and render away. Great pie crusts and great everything else too.


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## Ivan (Feb 20, 2010)

kvanlaan said:


> (They also walk to circumference of the earth in a 12-month period, but that's probably got nothing to do with it.)



They walk 68 miles a day?


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## Scott1 (Feb 20, 2010)

Gentlemen, let's not turn this into a promotion of pig lard!

We're trying to help people to naturally lower cholesterol with variety our Lord has already provided. This is a serious problem for many, and for many who do not realize that it is.


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## kvanlaan (Feb 20, 2010)

> They walk 68 miles a day?



At a minimum.



> Gentlemen, let's not turn this into a promotion of pig lard!



Remember Acts 10!


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## Ivan (Feb 20, 2010)

kvanlaan said:


> > They walk 68 miles a day?
> 
> 
> 
> At a minimum.


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## MarieP (Feb 20, 2010)

OINK!!!!!!!

Would this be oinkobaptism?


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## Ivan (Feb 20, 2010)

Scott, I was once very much into an extreme healthy living style...too extreme. Oh, I was healthy, very healthy, but my priorities were wrong. However, I think it is time for a balanced approach and I'd like to see this thread return to that subject. Exercise is an important element of that thought as well. Again, I was too extreme with that too. Not so much, physically, but spiritually. I was neglecting the most important things. Again, it's balance.


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## au5t1n (Feb 20, 2010)

Where've you been, Marie? I must say I've missed your posts.


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## MarieP (Feb 20, 2010)

austinww said:


> Where've you been, Marie? I must say I've missed your posts.


 
Right here! A little busy lately!


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## au5t1n (Feb 20, 2010)

MarieP said:


> austinww said:
> 
> 
> > Where've you been, Marie? I must say I've missed your posts.
> ...


 
Well, glad you're here. You make me laugh even more than Andrew (AThornquist) sometimes!


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## Scottish Lass (Feb 20, 2010)

Getting pregnant (and now nursing) made me really examine the processed foods in our house. We eat for convenience a lot, which doesn't have to mean processed foods, but for many, it does. I switched our lunchmeat, cheese, soups, etc. to natural choices to make sure I was doing the best I could for Grace. We were already using whole grains in our cereals, pasta, bread, etc. Sometimes it's easier to think of our health in terms of what it means to someone else than for ourselves---I want to be healthy to enjoy the life God has given me, especially with my family.


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## kvanlaan (Feb 20, 2010)

As much as I love bacon, I have been trying to get oatmeal into my diet at least 4-5 times a week. But my wife cooks like the Southwestern beauty that she is to offset the oatmeal (so I should be at cholesterol equilibrium...)

Funny thing is, I am overweight, would appear to have massive stress in my life, and almost without fail clock in at 120 over 80 when it comes to BP. At last check, my cholesterol is normal. I don't get it.


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## Scottish Lass (Feb 20, 2010)

kvanlaan said:


> Funny thing is, I am overweight, would appear to have massive stress in my life, and almost without fail clock in at 120 over 80 when it comes to BP. At last check, my cholesterol is normal. I don't get it.



Some of that is genetic disposition, I think. My cholesterol is so low that it literally barely registers and I do very little to manage it.


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## a mere housewife (Feb 20, 2010)

Just a note that 'George' at the world's healthiest foods does not recommend cooking with olive oil because of some kind of damage high heat supposedly does to the oil: WHFoods: Why I don't cook with Olive Oil

I don't really know how much to credit these things. I just eat popcorn and take them in.


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## kvanlaan (Feb 20, 2010)

Frying with olive oil is not a good idea. When we have it, we use coconut oil, because there is no heat damage.

BTW, my wife is a fan of "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. If you get into the whole diet it advocates, you will see some real changes in your general wellbeing.


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## au5t1n (Feb 20, 2010)

These are some interesting points from the documentary I mentioned earlier (Fat Head):



> * There’s never been a single study that proves saturated fat causes heart disease.
> * As heart-disease rates were skyrocketing in the mid-1900s, consumption of animal fat was going down, not up. Consumption of vegetable oils, however, was going up dramatically.
> * Half of all heart-attack victims have normal or low cholesterol. Autopsies performed on heart-attack victims routinely reveal plaque-filled arteries in people whose cholesterol was low (as low as 115 in one case).
> * Asian Indians - half of whom are vegetarians - have one of the highest rates of heart disease in the entire world. Yup, that fatty meat will kill you, all right.
> ...



Fat Head


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## kvanlaan (Feb 20, 2010)

Amen, brother. Preach it, Fat Head! Some of the stuff I saw in the trailer was just hilarious - the biochemist in there, Mary Enig, worked with Sally Fallon on the cookbook. Awesome stuff.


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## Christusregnat (Feb 21, 2010)

My wife suggested I "weigh in" (pun intended). Okay, so I love fat; I love butter, bacon, eggs, cheese, steak, fried beef, ice cream, pie, etc. My wife is an excellent and very skilled cullinary artist. Everyone loves what she makes because it tastes GOOD! She's from the Old Dominion State, and cooks like it. Mmmmmm, good stuff!

Oh, and did I mention the baklava?!

Plus, I drink whole milk, beer, wine, whisky, wine, etc.

So, my doctor saw my pot belly, and figured my cholesterol must be VERY bad, and put me on a regimented exercise program. Once he got the results of my cholesterol test, however, he changed his mind about me. My cholesterol was "very good", and with the right kind of cholesterol to boot. My take home lesson? Don't eat processed or "health" gimmick food. Trust God, relax, and have a beer.

Cheers,


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