Reduction of animal fat leads to health

Dear Dr. Gott: What do you, in your practice, do to help patients lower their cholesterol levels?

Dear Reader: As I mentioned in a recent column, diet is the cheapest, safest and most reasonable first step to lowering your cholesterol levels. Here is what I recommend:

• Buy lean cuts of meat, trim off the fat and cook them in the broiler.

• Avoid cholesterol rich meats, such as pork sausage, bacon and luncheon meats (such as wursts, pastrami and so forth).

• Drink skimmed milk rather than whole milk or “reduced fat” milk. Skimmed is fat-free and will, therefore, give you more protein and vitamins per glass.

• Go easy on cheese. If you have a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, don’t have pizza or macaroni and cheese for dinner. Buy low-fat cream cheese. Substitute low-cholesterol cheese (such as Jarlsburg) for rich cheddar and soft French cheeses that contain cholesterol.

• Don’t consume butter (or cream). In its place, use corn oil margarine or one of the many similar products that have low cholesterol. If you can, find a substitute that also has minimal amounts of trans-fatty acids.

• Avoid eating fried foods in commercial restaurants. You don’t know what ingredients were used to prepare the foods. For example, until recently, a large food chain used lard (pure animal fat) to prepare their french fries.

• Reduce your consumption of iced cream; substitute low-fat frozen yogurt, sherbet, or sorbet.

• Limit your consumption of eggs to no more than two a week.

• Use olive oil as a basic fat in your diet. You can also cook with it.

• Be cautious about consuming egg-yolk-containing products, such as Bernaise sauce, Hollandaise and mayonnaise. (Low-fat mayonnaise is available.)

• If you choose to consume low-fat foods, you will not appreciably alter your eating habits and what you eat will be more healthful. I cannot remember a single patient who, on this diet, failed to reduce his or her cholesterol levels significantly. If this strategy does not achieve your goal, you may be a candidate for more aggressive therapy that includes prescription medication.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Understanding Cholesterol.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: I’d like some information on vitamin pills, such as when to take them for best results, with meals or on an empty stomach, morning or night?

Dear Reader: Vitamins can be taken at any time, with or without food. Unlike many prescription drugs whose absorption is enhanced (or reduced) by food in the stomach, vitamins are readily absorbed irrespective of when they are consumed. However, as with any medicine, consumers should follow the instructions printed on the label.