Avoiding high cholesterol

Measures against high cholesterol levels

In the case of hereditary high cholesterol levels, medication is usually necessary to reduce it. In this case, even a low-cholesterol diet is often insufficient.

In summary, the following factors are essential for low cholesterol.

Lots of exercise

Sufficient physical exercise can improve HDL cholesterol levels. Changes that lead to more movement in everyday life can often already be effective. Who likes to wait for the elevator? The way up the stairs is often faster and also has a positive health effect. However, you should also not overdo it and choose movements or sports that are conducive to endurance. Short-term high performance, on the other hand, is less suitable. We recommend swimming, hiking, cycling or a round of Nordic walking.

Low cholesterol diet

A balanced and healthy diet is very important for general health. A low-fat and low-cholesterol diet pays off, especially with LDL cholesterol, since cholesterol is supplied to the body through food. Ideally, you should only eat a little meat and use fruit, vegetables, fish, vegetable oils, nuts and whole grain products in particular as fixed components in your diet.

However, you should avoid seafood, crustaceans and shellfish, sardines, squid, etc., because they contain a relatively high amount of cholesterol.

Reaching a normal weight

Being overweight has a negative impact on cholesterol levels. If you consciously eat healthily and don't neglect exercise, you will soon have reached your ideal weight. A Body Mass Index (BMI) in the range of 18.5 to 25 kg/m² is recommended.

Avoid alcohol and smoking

For ideal cholesterol levels, don't smoke and limit alcohol consumption. A small glass of wine or beer every now and then with your healthy meals shouldn't hurt though, as long as you don't overdoe it.

Low cholesterol diet

In general, cholesterol is actually only found in animal foods, but in varying amounts. A daily cholesterol consumption of less than 300 mg is recommended for healthy people. Eggs and the yolk in particular have a very high cholesterol content and should be consumed a maximum of 2-3 times a week by people with high cholesterol levels.

In particular, the amount of fat or saturated fatty acids (animal fats) has a high proportion of cholesterol levels.

Compare cholesterol levels in different foods

In this table you can see an overview of foods that are low in cholesterol or contain a lot of cholesterol.

Low cholesterol	High cholesterol
Lean veal or beef	Fatty pork meat
Chicken & turkey (skinless)	Salami
Fish	Squid, caviar, eel, sardines
Olive, rapeseed, linseed, sunflower oil	Butter, lard, palm and coconut fat
Vegetable margarine	Eggs and egg products (noodles, cakes, etc.)
Low-fat milk, buttermilk, cottage cheese	Whole milk, cream, crème fraiche
Vegetables, legumes, fruit	Olives, avocados, soybeans
Wholemeal bread and pasta, rice, yeast dough	Chocolate, chips, cakes, pastries
Coffee and tea without cream	Coffee and tea with cream

You should note, however, that overconsumption of certain low-cholesterol foods may not be ideal either, and that a varied and balanced diet is generally the best solution. This table is primarily intended to give you alternatives to foods high in cholesterol.