My friend has been diagnosed with high cholesterol after suffering a small stroke.What foods will combat this?

Answer:
Basically, low fat, low cholesterol and low sodium (salt) foods are best. Primarily that means vegetables and fruits and fruits and vegetables. Most doctors recommend 8-12 servings of these every day (a serving is generally regarded as 1/2 cup). Fresh is best.
Avoid/limit meats, dairy products, eggs and packaged foods. These are normally very high in fats, cholesterol and/or sodium. Limit soft drinks because they are packed with empty calories and sodium. Be careful of fruit drinks and juices for the same reason (read the labels) Tomato juice and V8, for instance are very, very high in sodium. Men should limit alcohol consumption to 2 drinks per day (1 for women).
Supplements you can add, with your doctors approval, is Fish Oil and Niacin. Niacin helps bring down overall cholesterol, while Fish Oil can help increase your HDL (good cholesterol).
Exercise! A brisk walk for 30 minutes a day is good. If you can't do that today, that's OK. Start with 5 minutes, or 10 minutes, before long you will find that 30 minutes is no problem at all. But again, check with your doctor before you start any exercise program to ensure it is safe for you and your conditioning. If you are over weight (like me), please try to get to your ideal weight. A bulk of fat on your body adds to the strain on your heart and increases cholesterol production by your liver.
If your doctor has recommended a Rx drug to help combat high cholesterol, take it.
I speak from experience and my research. I have had high cholesterol for a few years. I had 5 bypasses put in in Oct. 2006 due to Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). My cholesterol levels are now near the desired levels. But my HDL/LDL ratio remains off a bit.
To learn more, and to check on what I have told you, see the links below. You can also ask your doctor about anything I said that you may not understand.These two links are to PDF files provided by Department of Patient Education
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
4301 West Markham Street #526
Little Rock, AR 72205
Telephone (501) 686-8084 Pager (501) 688-6874Foods to Avoid - Low Cholesterol
http://www.uams.edu/patienteducation/han...Foods to Use - Low Cholesterol
http://www.uams.edu/patienteducation/han...Good luck and best whishes to you and your friend.
Terry

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Eating Cheerios for breakfast, and eating oatmeal will lower high cholesterol. Also avoid eating foods with butter, I suggest reading the Nutrition Facts on the backs of the product.

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Broad beans are very good also leafy veggies.Turkey is also good.
But stay away from carrots and any High Vitamin K food sources they increase the clotting

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mediterranean food and walking everyday half a hour.

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low to non-fat foods and low salt diet. Lots of fruit and veggies. Less meat.

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Basically any foods containing Soya Beans!

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A change in diet to cut out most saturated fats and reduce total fats in the diet. With this type of problem she should be getting no more than 20 % of Calories from fats. A diet concentrated in fresh fruits and veggies, low in animal fats with lots of lean fish with omega 3 fatty acids, is bestShe needs to reduce her weight if she is overweight also.

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Cheerios
Oatmeal
Shredded Wheat
Fruits
Vegetables
Lettuce %26 tomatoes
BROIL lean meats and fish--don't fry anything
NO hot dogs, sausage, pepperoni, bologna, etc.
Juices
Green tea, herbal teas
NO butter, margarine, oil, mayonnaise
Salmon and other fish (or fish oil supplements)
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Very little cheese, milk, etc.
No chocolate
Cut down on bread
Meat portions very small
Few eggs--better to use egg substitute or just egg white

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It's not just about what foods MAY help to lower cholesterol (there are all kinds out there that claim it, from drinks to spreads), but it should also be about what foods to avoid to allow the levels to drop, and prevent them climbing higher.A healthy, well balanced diet, of plenty of fresh fruit and veg, wholemeal bread, low fat spreads (low in saturated fats), and initially cut down on meat %26 eggs.Diets high in protein are not good for hypercholestrolaemia.GP's may prescibe a short course of statin tablets to assist lowering cholesterol if it's really high

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I would limit or eliminate red meats or anything high in animal
fat, Yes, this is hard to do if you are not into being a vegetarian. Leave processed flour, sugars alone. If you want to take a med (leave the RX alone) , I recommend Red Yeast
Rice (stay away from the Walmart brands). It has been shown to lower cholesterol. However, medical doctors will say otherwise to sway you. But even some of them have patients who cholesterol have come down by taking this product (if they admit to it).

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A diet high in fibre will help to reduce it.Bile formed in the gall bladder is released to help digest the fibre. The bile is made from cholesterol. In order to replenish stores released from the gall bladder cholesterol is removed from the circualting blood thus bringing down blood cholesterol.

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Cholesterol is basically "bad fat". Your friend should stick to a low fat diet. However, the body needs a certain amount of fat and there are some "good fats" that can actually lower cholesterol. These would be found in nuts for example.Make sure your friend has a diet with plenty of fruit and veg. He/she should have a very (if any) limited amount of dairy, red meat, fried foods, etc... They should chose low fat varieties of cheese and things.If your friends cholesterol level is very high and your friend is at risk from it, a doctor may perscribe medication to lower it - however, your friend would have had to try with a healthy diet before hand to see if that worked.

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lean meat
low dairy foods
one vegetarian meal a week based on dried bean,peas or lentils
avoid deep fried foods
low fat salad dressing and plenty salads
wholemeal bread
brown rice
avoid snacks between meals and biscuits
fruit and vegetables every day in at least 1 meal
drink more water no fat shortening or oil in foods
plenty fish
Hope this helps

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