Special Nutrition


Reducing Blood Cholesterol

Generally, you will need to:

  • Reduce the saturated fat content of your diet
  • Replace saturated fats with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
  • Increase your fruit and vegetable intake
  • Increase your intake of soluble fibre

How to decrease your saturated fat intake:

  • Choose low fat dairy products
  • Choose lean meats
  • Cut all visible fat from meat
  • Use a polyunsaturated margarine in place of butter
  • Consider using a margarine which contains plant sterols e.g. Logical and ProActiv (plant sterols which reduce cholesterol absorption and increase cholesterol excretion from the body)
  • Limit your use of coconut and palm oils

How to replace saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat:

  • Use polyunsaturated margarines instead of butter
  • Try replacing butter with oils (eg sunflower, safflower, canola, olive) in recipes eg. Muffin recipes, cakes etc.
  • Use the spray oils instead of butter for frying foods and greasing pans and cake tins.
  • Instead of conventional pies, try stewing your own meat (with the fat removed) and wrapping it with filo pastry (spray the filo with oil spray instead of using butter - Delicious!)

How to increase fruit and vegetable intake:

  • Put tinned or fresh fruit on your cereal in the morning
  • Take fruit in your lunch box
  • Base desserts around fruit eg. Fruit crumbles, tinned fruit and yoghurt, fresh fruit salad, fruit pies in filo pastry (spray the filo with oil spray instead of using butter)

How to increase soluble fibre intake:

  • Try incorporating dried beans and legumes into meals (100-150g of dried legumes eg. Soy beans and chickpeas)
  • Soluble fibre is also found in fruits and vegetables, dried peas, lentils, rice and barley
  • Oats and porridge provide a good source of soluble fibre

NB. If you plan to increase your intake of fibre, be sure to drink plenty of water to assist the effects of fibre on bowel regularity.

Fish intake

You may also want to increase your fish intake to 2-3 times per week. Fish to include are tuna, salmon, sardines and mackerel.