Is milk good for a person with high cholestrol?
Well, it depends on what type of milk you’re drinking and much you consume in your diet. Our bodies need dairy products to function properly, unfortunately almost all dairy is loaded with saturated fats. Saturated fat is found in almost all animal products and is one of the causes in high cholestrol.
If you need to lower your cholestrol, do not drink whole milk, which is high in saturated fat. Choose skim milk or 1’% over whole milk, which is much better for you in the long run. If you’re a big coffee or tea drinker use skim milk or a fat free creamer instead of half and half or whole milk.
A healthy alternative to milk is soy milk. Over the years soy milk has become increasingly popular due to its nutrient benefits. During the mid 90’s clinical studies were done that proved patients that had a significant amount of soy protein in their diet lowered their cholestrol levels. By 1996 the FDA put out a health claim stating that soy protein had benefits against fighting heart disease. The health claim stated “Diets low in saturated fat and cholestrol that includes 25grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease. One serving of [name of product] provides [amount] of soy protein”. One glass of soy milk contains 8g of soy protein in it, plus added nutrients that are beneficial to you.
In 1981 a study was done on people that lived in Thailand. The coconut plays a key role in the islander’s diet. The bad side to coconut is that it’s high in saturated fat but the islanders showed no signs of harmful effects from consuming coconuts. A ton of islanders moved off of Thailand to New Zealand, once there their intake of coconut deceased. As their intake decreased their LDL, the bad cholestrol, increased. Scientists were baffled at this finding and dove deeper to see what the cause could be. Turns out that coconut saturated fat is mostly made up of lauric acid. When lauric acid enters into the body it’s changed into Monolaurin which is actually good for your body. Monolaurin attributes to the help of fighting off certain viruses, such as herpes, aids and influenza.
If you suffer from high cholestrol speak with your doctor first. Your physician will be able to give you information on what foods are right for you to eat. Any questions you have about drinking milk or soy milk can be answered and your doctor will also be able to give you up to date information on lowering cholestrol.