High Cholesterol & Borderline Diabetic Diet

High cholesterol and diabetes are conditions which often go hand-in-hand and when combined, increase the risk for heart disease. Physical activity, diet and weight management are three important methods for lowering blood cholesterol and helping to avoid the development of full-blown diabetes. While all three work together and are equally important, it is diet that is usually the most complicated and difficult to control.

Which Kind of Diet Is Right for You?

There are all kinds of diets on the market with each one purporting to be the best at reducing weight quickly. Most common among these diets is the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet and a host of copycat diets that closely resemble its low-carb emphasis. When it comes to weight reduction, a study conducted by P.A. Dyson, S. Beatty, and D.R. Matthews in the December 2007 issue of "Diabetic Medicine" suggests that these types of diets can be more effective than traditional "healthy eating" diets. The problem with these low-carb diets is that they tend to only work in the short-term and do not promote healthy living for a lifetime. Therefore, it is probably better to incorporate elements of the low-carb diet with more traditional dietary methods such as cutting calories and increasing fiber intake in order to lower blood cholesterol and stave off diabetes.

What Should You Eat?

In a low-carbohydrate diet the majority of your calories should come from high-quality meat proteins such as fish and chicken. Some people take license with a low-carb diet and see it as an occasion to load up on bacon and other fatty proteins. The National Institute of Health recommends an "eating plan that calls for less than 7 percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 200mg of dietary cholesterol per day." In order to achieve these goals, you should focus on proteins that are both low in fat and low in sodium rather than those, like bacon, which are high in both.

In addition to the proper protein sources, a diet that is high in soluble fiber and incorporates foods that contain plant stanols or sterols can also help keep cholesterol levels low. Foods containing high soluble fiber are those generally found in oats and oat-containing products. Plant stanols, or sterols, are substances that naturally occur in certain types of plants that have the ability to block cholesterol absorption. These include a variety of foods like whole wheat, brown rice, dried beans and lentils, and various types of nuts like walnuts and almonds.

How Do You Stick with Your Diet?

The best way to successfully maintain a healthy diet is by keeping a journal of the foods you eat on a daily basis and keeping close watch over your weight. As tedious as it may seem, writing down the number of calories you consume along with the amount of fiber (in grams) can provide motivation and help you to see the correlation between weight loss and diet. Above all, keep it simple and do not forget to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes per day in order to maximize your results.