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Hi! At this point, I'm just checking back when asked a question. When my life gets less hectic, I'll start browsing to find questions to answer. But please ask; I will answer within 24 hours.

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ok, im 13/f and my cholesteral lever is 237....my doctor says i need to get it down by at least 30-40 points by the time i got for my next visit, which is in april. How can i get my cholesteral down? btw, dont say like go on a diet or something because i LOVE eating...im not fat though. nellie x0x

If your problem is not your weight, but specifically your cholesterol, then your "diet" will be different from that of someone trying to loose weight. You do not need to eat anything with cholesterol in it, as your body will produce all it needs. (Yes, it does need a little bit, just not as much as you've got).

Exercise has been shown to help lowering cholesterol. So has a high fiber diet. Most importantly, put as little cholesterol into your body as possible. Cholesterol is found in animal products - meats and dairy products.

If you want to get really drastic, go vegan and avoid saturated fats (like nuts). More realistically, switch out the eggs and bacon for oatmeal, the hamburger and fries for grilled chicken breast and salad, and the lasagna for pasta primavera.

You can still eat as much as you want, you just need to change what your eating. If you think it's way too much work to change your eating habits, start by committing to eating one no-cholesterol meal a day.

Suggestions for lower cholesterol foods:
* oatmeal! there are a million ways to eat oatmeal. You can also try cream of wheat, grits, and bran cereals. Just don't add butter!
* Toast, english muffin, or bagel with jelly instead of peanut-butter or cream cheese. bonus points for whole wheat - increased fiber seems to help lower cholesterol.
* garden salad with italian dressing. Has a little fat, but shouldn't have any cholesterol. Vinaigrettes come in lots of flavors and are good too. Try to avoid putting cheese, ham, or egg in your salad regularly - unless your only putting in a little and the salad is your whole meal.
* italian ice - I know it's not ice cream, but ice cream is a pretty big no-no. You can try some of the soy frozen deserts too - they've got all the calories and fat of regular ice cream, but no cholesterol.
* soup! it's getting into the cold season, soup and crackers makes a great lunch. :) Clear vegetarian soups are the ones you want to look for here - while they probably make a low cholesterol cream of mushroom, most version are going to have an awful lot of it. Minestrone, vegetable, lentil, 3 bean, barely, tomato, summer squash, leek, and split pea come to mind. Careful on the split pea and tomato - some are full of cholesterol laden heavy cream. I know Campbell's makes some low cholesterol chicken soups, but I'm not fond of their soups.

I have to get going - but if you need more food suggestions, drop me a note in my box. I love food and my dad's had high cholesterol for most of my life, so our family ate low cholesterol when I was growing up.

Good luck!

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