foods to avoid
foods that might raise your good cholesterol
foods that might lower your bad cholesterol

too much bread consumption can be unhealthy

"do not eat this! " How many times have you been told that certain foods are not good for your cholesterol level. Below is a list of foods to avoid or to choose.

Foods to avoid 
Foods to choose
should I or shouldn't I eat this?

• Eggs - For as long as I can remember, eggs were a bad food for those with high cholesterol, but the truth is that eaten in moderation, they do not raise your cholesterol. You could eat one egg a day and not harm yourself.  boiled or poached is healthier than fried.
• bacon - Bacon is high in saturated fat so should not be eaten on a diet to control cholesterol and/or weight. It is a considered a processed meat. No processed meats appear to be healthy.
• french fries - Fast food fries are traditionally made with saturated fat although some businesses are trying to use healthier fats now. You can make healthier french fries at home. Baking is better than frying, but regular french fries are not good to eat on a cholesterol lowering diet. Sweet potato fries are healthier than white potato fries.
• breakfast sausage - Most breakfast sausage is made from pork with added ingredients that make it not so healthy. The healthier sausage to eat would be homemade using ground turkey. 
• hot dogs - You need to look for grass fed, all beef and lower calorie weiners. Natural, uncured chicken meat wieners with low saturated fat and less sodium are better to eat. Some turkey hot dogs are healthy. Read the labels looking for low saturated fat, low sodium, no nitrates and low calories. Hot dogs made for vegetarians are also usually healthier. The answer is to always read the labels. If there are too many ingredients, especially if you don't know what the ingredients are, keep looking. The truth about hot dogs is that eating them once or twice a year is enough. They are not healthy food (sighhh)
• bologna - This is a highly processed meat that is better avoided.
• meat - Choose chicken or turkey without skin.  Eat fish.
• milk products - This is not clear to me. There are scientists and doctors who say it is not so good for you and others that say milk is okay.  I read a suggestion on a site that said it would be good to go without milk for two weeks to see if you feel healthier or if there is no change. That sounds like a good idea. It has also been suggested that goat milk and cheese might be healthier than cow milk. With milk there is always the GMO and hormone problem. I am going to continue to research this problem. If anyone has a clearer insight, I would be glad to hear it. 
• Ice cream - I know, this is a milk product too. Basically, manufactured ice cream from the grocery store is full of additives and not so good for you. You can make healthier ice cream at home. There are many healthy fruit "ice creams" you can make at home. 
• bread - Most breads contain GMO ingredients and preservatives.They are often made with questionable oils. I have learned that wheat is not helpful in lowering cholesterol (see study by Brenda M Davy, Kevin P Davy, Richard C Ho, Stacy D Beske, Linda R Davrath, and Christopher L Melby). The best bread to eat is sprouted grain bread such as Ezekiel or Genesis breads. I have been eating only Ezekiel bread for about a year, and I like it much better than regular bread. I know it is healthier. It contains no processed flour but is made from grains which have been sprouted.
• vegetables and fruits - These are the healthiest foods you can eat as long as they are fresh.
• Nuts and seeds - These are good for cholesterol lowering, but are high in calories so don't eat too many.

Choose this

instead of this or choose the apples

Read the labels

The front label tells us that the can contains 100% pure pumpkin. You can feel safe buying food that is pure and has no additives.

The back  label tells us that the only ingredient is pumpkin and that it contains important nutrients.

The bottom line on choosing food is to read labels carefully. When I eat the flaxseed oil cottage cheese mixture, I choose Daisy Cottage Cheese. The reason is that it has few ingredients (Cultured skim milk, cream, and salt), and that I know what the ingredients are. Here are the guidelines I use as I read the food label:

• If it has preservatives, don't buy it.  They harden your internal organs which are so much healthier if they are soft and pliable.
• If sodium is high, I don't buy it. You need between 1500 and 2300 mg of sodium per day and almost everything you eat has sodium. Less sodium is better than more, but you do need some.
• If there are ingredients that I can't pronounce easily, I don't buy something. I feel that those ingredients are probably not natural.
• Too much sugar is definitely not good. Sugar is the enemy. This makes me sad because I always have loved sugar, but I prefer health. I remember buying margarine for my mother when I was a child. It was white like shortening and came in a plastic bag with some coloring in it. We would squeeze the bag until the margarine was yellow. It didn't seem normal. 
• If something contains a lot of saturated fats, I don't buy it. I do use butter, because it is natural. Margarine tends to have long lists of ingredients that I don't understand and can't easily pronoun

Homemade sausage

If you want to eat sausage, you can make this tasty recipe at home. You will know what is in it. 

breakfast sausage
2 lb.        pork, ground (⅓ fat)             1 t   pepper
2 t           salt                                        1/2 t  sugar 
3 to 4 t    ground sage     

Mix seasonings together.  Sprinkle over meat.  Work in thoroughly.  If meat seems too lean, up to 2 T oil may be added to prevent sausage being tough.  Add red pepper if desired. Form into patties and cook in skillet.