Nuts. Literally, nuts makes great snacks. Costco will have large bags of walnuts or almonds (unsalted) that you can repackage for easy to carry portions. Anything high fiber, oat flour bread, oat muffins are good choices too...

My total own was never high, the ratio though between good/bad was skewed, good too low, bad too high. But I wasn't good about regular exercise, my stationary bike was in the basement, walking with friends who walk in the neighborhoods was hard on my hip (cement sidewalks). Bringing the bike upstairs and just 20-30 minutes a day resolved the good/bad numbers - so exercise does make a huge difference and it doesn't have to be hours a day.

Having high cholesterol myself, I can tell you that fat intake is one of the most important things to watch. Remove all processed foods and read every single label for the types of fat. He should perform at least 30 continuous minutes of cardio every day. It can be a brisk walk, bicycling running etc. Get him a heart rate monitor so his heart rate can be monitored during that 30 minute period.

Cakes and snack foods are a no-no. Whole grains for all breads/wraps/pasta. Make the body work to process the food.

The South Beach approach is a good one to kick start an eating change. He won't be hungry through it and it's got lots of snacks. He's going to have to change his lifestyle in order to stay off the meds.

If he really wants to do this without takings meds, then he must commit to doing the right thing. If he continues to buy no-no foods on the sly, then he hasn't confronted the problem.

A smart person I know says that having something written will help. Have him write a commitment to eat better, exercise more, etc. Then make a couple of copies. Hang one on the fridge, one on the shelf where the snacks used to be. Hang one on the bathroom mirror.

For your part, don't buy bad things. Stock whole grains, nuts, etc. You can make your own sweet potato chips with a bit of sea salt, that is good as a snack in his lunch.

And, when he does the right thing, verbalize positive reinforcement.

Jim

Good for you and for him to try to improve his readings through diet.

My cholesterol numbers have always been good. I eat almost no beef, very little pork, mostly chicken and turkey and not a lot of that. I eat a lot of nuts like Morz,
peanut butter too.

I wonder if the deer is a high cholesterol food. If you find it is, try putting less on his sandwich. Substitute healthier foods for the chips, cookies, etc. But be careful he does not get hungry because that will discourage him.

Below is a site I've found helpful when researching the nutrition values of different foods. Maybe you will find it helpful. Your local library might have a book which would be helpful, and of course there are lots of internet sources.

Good luck!

PS--Is cheese going on the sandwich? If so, try to reduce the cheese.

This post was edited by socks12345 on Mon, Sep 16, 13 at 13:39

Cholesterol is a funny thing.
What is good for someone is not good for someone else.

DH is a 'meatasaurus"... LOVE his steaks and burgers especially. He has 6 to 8 ounces of meat every single day, started with his breakfast's Canadian bacon. His cholesterol is 131.

My cholesterol dropped 30 points when I stopped eating just 3 or 4 eggs a week (use generic EggBeaters instead).

Exercise lowered my LDL and raised my HDL - it has no effect on DH.

Try various things, and see what works for him.
Meeting with a dietitian would help too!

Get a hot air popcorn pumper, skip the butter.
Zero cholesterol, and can be put into baggies for snacks.

This post was edited by monica_pa on Mon, Sep 16, 13 at 13:37

My suggestion is to the Dr. not so much for the meds but to make sure there is no other medical conditon. There could be heart or diabetis problems also. What is his blood sugars? Just my thoughts.
Marie

You can probably find a South Beach diet book somewhere in a used book store for pretty cheap, that is what we did and it made a huge difference for him especially.

I started packing his lunch for him every day, usually it was a salad with some type of meat in it like turkey pastrami, turkey breast, chicken breast they have lots of great flavors now for change. I would put snack packs of carrot sticks and celery, when he could have fruit I added apple slices.

He loves raw veggies like cauliflower and broccoli. I would take lettuce leaves and layer in some deli meats and some mustard and make a lettuce roll up "sandwich" His hard thing was cheese he loves cheese!

NUTS NUTS NUTS! lots of them and various kinds. And jerky is a good treat. There is a recipe out from South Beach you can find everywhere now that uses cauliflower and it is just like mashed potatoes. I love sweet potatoes which are an ok food but he does not. I love the fries and the chips.

We changed to brummel and brown for our butter it is made with yogurt and I like it better than margarine or butter.
My husband just had the weight falling off of him, it was much slower for me but that is how it generally happens.

We started eating lots and lots of fish and seafood. I pretty much completely stopped eating steak, now It makes me sick to even smell one. I do still eat beef in dishes. We did eat the very lean pork "white meat" it is a pretty good choice actually.
We would buy turkeys and he would smoke them in his smoker, remove all the skin and fat and package it up in the freezer.

I would bet that deer bologna is extremely high in fat, I would definitely be limiting that. Try the turkey pastrami my husband really liked it especially in his salad.

try going online to some of the carb diet forums they always have a ton of recipes.
Mashed Cauliflower

Getting Started on a Low Carb Diet

Low-Carb Fruit List: The Best and the Worst Fruits
Low Carb Diets
a few places to get you started in the right direction. There are just tons of resources out there.

I also use Vegenaise instead of mayo. I think it tastes better than mayo. I eat mostly turkey (not processed), Sometimes chicken. If I want cheese I get Go Veggie..

Why is Vegenaiseî Better than Mayo?

Vegenaiseî is an eggless mayonnaise that is a healthier, tastier option to regular mayo. Made with exclusively Non-GMO ingredients and using only heart-healthy, expeller-pressed oils, Vegenaiseî delivers the smooth creamy texture of mayo without any of the cholesterol, trans fats or preservatives. Vegenaiseî is naturally gluten- and dairy-free, is certified Kosher Parve, and is made the highest quality ingredients that are verified by the Non-GMO Project. There are 5 different varieties of Vegenaiseî: Original (blue lid), Reduced Fat (yellow lid), Grapeseed Oil (purple lid), Soy-Free (light sage lid), and Organic (green lid). You can learn more about the different varieties and find out which Vegenaiseî is right for you by checking our Comparison Charts.
- See more at: http://followyourheart.com/faq-products/vegenaise/#sthash.yijZo6Mf.dpuf

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegenaise

I can add a few thoughts. They talk about oatmeal being good for lowering cholesterol. I don't know whether it does or not.

Also, I am on cholesterol meds and even so, had just barely high numbers (within about 5 points of what is typically considered the normal range). But, because I am diabetic, my doctor said that my cholesterol should be lower. She recommended, for cooking, using only olive oil (at low cooking temps) or sunflower oil (at high cooking temps). Also, using the olive oil spread (or even the yogurt spread) in place of butter or margarine. I switched then we checked cholesterol levels after 4 months and they had dropped a few points.

Like everything else involving diet, it does seem to be a somewhat individual thing. I don't know how bread and cakes got into the equation....unless he has high triglycerides, they shouldn't be a problem as long as they're not made with butter or trans fats. Make your own baked goods, and they should be fine.

It's saturated fat he should avoid, not all fats. My dad's cholesterol was terribly high in his forties, and his health truly precarious. He gave up cheese, regular milk, sausage, ice cream, fatty meats, lunch meats (except for boiled ham), etc. He ate lots of steak, but very lean cuts like flank steak and round steak, top round London broil, etc. He always ground his own hamburger. He cooked with olive oil. He turned around his health and lived to be 90.

I do all that, too, but I also eat about 1/3 cup of oat bran every day, and I think that has made a difference too. Also walnuts! Raw walnuts have a very beneficial effect on blood fats. I don't take any meds.

I can't do the sweets because my triglycerides will skyrocket, but my dad didn't have that problem and continued to eat breads and desserts his whole life. Halloween was one of his favorite holidays. :-)

My favorite snack is non-fat Greek yogurt with walnuts added. You could drizzle some honey on top if you like, and add wheat germ or whatever. I also like to eat dry roasted, unsalted peanuts. I don't have a problem with salt; I just like the unsalted better.

Sliced sweet potatoes tossed with a little olive oil and whatever seasoning you like, then roasted in the oven--another good snack.

I'm a huge proponent of a vegan diet for health issues. It avoids almost all saturated fat, and focuses on whole fruits and vegetables. It's also a zero-cholesterol diet as cholesterol is only found in animal products. There's also research showing that plant-based proteins eliminate cholesterol more than animal-based protein.

However, vegan diet aside, I also agree with some previous posters that the number one thing to eliminate is sugar and refined carbohydrates. Those aren't healthy no matter which diet you choose to follow, and eliminating them can only do good.

I linked an article below from the WSJ that I found interesting. Actually, it seems to require a subscription when you click the link, but I found it Googling plant based proteins and cholesterol if anyone is interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant based proteins

Use Smart Balance instead of butter or margarine. It tastes good and I even bake with it.
Buy unsalted almonds, I think they are called natural.

Here's the link to a really useful free website. It allows you to customize a meal plan tailored to your dietary needs, such as calorie restriction for weight loss, low sodium or low cholesterol. So you could find out how many mg's of cholesterol are recommended for him per day, input that limit and it will generate a meal plan with recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Customized Meal Plan

Hi, all my life everybody told me that high cholesterol is the main reason for heart disease. Due to that, I struggled lowering my high cholesterol for all my life. It's running genetically in my family. I tried anything - all kind of low fat diets, sports, natural supplements but nothing helped. 2 years ago I gave up and started taking statin. It helped lowering my cholesterol but I felt bad - I hate taking drugs and there are all the researches that say that statin is bad. So a year ago I came across with this site - http://bit.ly/19DmhsC . I studied the material and I decided to give it a try - and the results are amazing!!! I stopped taking any medication and followed the instructions and in the past 9 months my health is great, my cholesterol is perfectly normal and in the first time in my life I eat the stuff I love!!! This is never happened to me in any other method! I really recommend to all people that wants to live healthy and enjoyable life - try this http://bit.ly/19DmhsC

I personally think they make too much of cholesterol, but that is just my personal opinion and based on a show on Dr. Oz that had a couple of doctors talking about it.
I take Zetia which is a non statin and works in the digestive system. I just went for check up the other day. Total cholesterol was 238 which is a little high, but she was not worried about it as she said good cholesterol was excellent.

Avocados, some nuts, olive oil, fish, and oats are all good foods that come to mind to keep levels down. Avoiding red meat and trans fats are the biggest helps. Sugar though is believed to break down and turn into cholesterol, and as we know sugar is a big factor in many illnesses, diseases.

If you have not tried any of the gummy vitamins available now, the VitaFusion Omega 3 tastes pretty good and helps with cholesterol.

Please disregard Theshark's post--it's just spam.

Salgal, is your head spinning? So many good suggestions, but it is a chore to change his diet, isn't it? My cholesterol has been creeping up and I'm really having to think about it--I too have doubt about the statins, though I think those with really high levels, like your SO, should consider them if he can't get the numbers down naturally. I do think it's important that he not get hungry, because that will tempt him to eat unhealthy calories. A diet with no fat will most likely make him hungry--Alisande makes much sense to me. Just my 2 cents.

Statins are one of the most over-prescribed meds in the US. And we are just starting to learn more about the long-term effects of them. Good for your DH, Salgal, that he isn't jumping on that wagon without really *trying* diet changes.

The whole 'cholesterol' kick has also been overdone. We all have a natural cholesterol 'setting'. What was Mr. Salgal's count in the past? Might he have eaten a LOT of transfats just before the blood test? (Our DS had a school physical one year right after we'd returned from a vacation where he'd been eating a lot of conch fritters; his MD was *shocked*... but a re-test was just fine.)

DH was put on a statin despite having 'borderline' high counts. When he turned 70 I questioned the positive/negative balance of taking a statin, and the MD took him off them. Every med has a 'downside'.

A new diet seems difficult for a couple of months. Then...he may feel like ravencajun -- the 'bad for you' stuff will not only no longer be appealing; it will revolt you.

I had my annual physical at the end of May, and my cholesterol was 299. I immediately cut out all sugar and refined carbs and trans fats. I walked 40 minutes a day. I ate healthy low-carb whole foods like baked or grilled chicken, wild salmon, grass-fed beef maybe once a week, fish, eggs, legumes (primarily red or black beans), LOTS of vegetables (but no potatoes), avocados, and some fruit (mostly berries and apples). Healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil and extra virgin coconut oil. I never felt deprived or hungry.

For snacks, I ate nuts, mostly almonds and walnuts, but also some pecans and pistachios. One of my favorite snacks is apple pieces dipped into almond butter. Homemade kale chips are good, too. For beverages, I stuck to water and lots of it, and tea (green, white or Rooibos).

I took a high quality fish oil supplement, not the ones you buy at the grocery store. And for a sweetener, I use "Just Like Sugar." I like it better than Stevia and you definitely want to avoid aspartame. Although after a short while of no sweets, I lost my desire for them and seldom used the Just Like Sugar.

After 3 months (and 20 pounds lighter) I had my cholesterol re-checked and it was down to 224. I don't need to lose much more weight, but I'm going to continue on this eating plan because I feel soooo much better. I think the key is to reduce inflammation, I think that is the real culprit to much of what ails us.

Good luck to your SO. He's a lucky man to have you helping him and looking out for him!

Everyone is different. My HDL, the good one is 101. I eat an egg a day and have had no meat in 30 years. Fruits and veggies and whole grains and NO processed foods of any kind. I also eat an avocado every day. Snacks should be nuts or maybe dry cereal ,but not the sugar coated kind.

Mash half an avocado and put it on the sandwich you make for him. Filling and tasty. No white bread in his sandwiches. I have discovered Dave's Killer Breads at the store, and they are yummy. Cook breakfast cereal to start the day right. Lots of nuts for snacks and in foods.

My DH eats healthy & works construction....here's a daily lunch box & snacks list:

Brown Rice cakes, with peanut butter on them
Mango, slice it up
Baby carrots
Spicy Black bean chips or flax seed blue chips
Yogurt sprinkled with raw oatmeal
*chicken green chile
*Avacado & chicken breast served on toasted wheat bread w/ ranch dressing
*Tuna melt
*Turkey club sandwich
*Trail mix: Assorted nuts/dried fruit/dark chocolate