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*  Use a microwave to thaw and cook meats, cook vegetables, pasta, etc.

*  Buy pre-cut vegetables and/or baby carrots to eat while preparing meals, as snacks, to take in lunches, and to cook with meats.

*  Broil meats, chicken, and fish. It’s fast and eliminates the need to add fats during preparation.

*  Keep a supply of staples on hand to avoid last minute trips to the store. Stock pasta, pasta sauce, (e.g., marinara), rice, and canned vegetables, (e.g., tomatoes), beans, and tuna.

*  Prepare larger quantities. For example, if making a soup or stew, prepare enough for three or four meals and freeze in individual containers.

*  Make one dish meals combining meats, vegetables, and grains to save on clean-up time. Try chili, ratatouille, or vegetable and rice casseroles and stir fries, and kabobs.

*  If a frozen dinner is your meal, balance it by adding a salad, piece of fruit, and skim milk. Add canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) to your salad.

*  For a super quick meal, eat a sandwich, a bowl of vegetable or bean soup, and drink a glass of skim milk.

*  Serve a nontraditional, but easy meal, for dinner. Try a stuffed potato with cut-up vegetables, plain yogurt, and Parmesan cheese, or a pizza with pizza sauce, fresh vegetables, and low-fat mozzarella cheese.

*  Purchase ready-to-eat items at the deli counter and salad bar that you can eat when you get home or refrigerate and use for the next day’s lunch and/or dinner. Examples are a rotisserie turkey breast half or whole chicken, tossed greens and cut-up vegetables, sliced lean meats, hummus, etc.

*  Stock your kitchen with quick snack foods that are nutrient dense, such as low-fat yogurt, fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, dry cereal, bagels, and whole grain crackers.

*  Practice smart snacking with convenience foods that offer both taste and nutrition. It takes only seconds to pour a glass of milk, open a box of cereal, or wash a piece of fresh fruit.

*  Practice moderation in your snack choices. Substitute fruit, yogurt, and plain popcorn for high-calorie snacks like chips and cookies. Pass on fat-free crackers and desserts. These may be lower in fat than regular varieties, but still have about the same number of calories.

*  Prepare healthy snacks, such as muffins, mixed fruit, or a fresh vegetable dip with pita wedges.

*  Make an effort to include fruits and vegetables. Order skim milk with your meal.

*  Pack a piece of fruit in your briefcase or purse for an afternoon snack or keep dried fruit in your desk drawer for an instant high fiber snack.

*  Take along individually portioned juices, raw vegetables, low-fat cheese or peanut butter, and whole grain crackers.

*  Opt for bottled water instead of sweetened soft drinks.

*  At the vending machine, choose low-fat options like pretzels, plain popcorn, oatmeal raisin cookies, gingersnaps, vanilla wafers, or low-fat yogurt.

*  When you go out for breakfast, try cereal with skim milk, waffles or pancakes with fresh fruit toppings, a bagel, or toast with fruit or juice.

*  At the fast food restaurant, opt for grilled chicken, fish, or lean meat entrees. Choose a salad, baked potato, or bean chili, going light on the toppings.

*  Order healthy “carry out” choices, such as grilled chicken, stir-fried dishes with rice (not fried noodles), pizza with a lot of vegetables and half the cheese, etc.

*  Make cell walls

*  Make vitamin D and some hormones

*  Give structure to the covering (myelin) that protects nerve fibers

*  Make bile. This helps your body digest fat.

*  Cholesterol the body makes (mostly in the liver)

*  Cholesterol in animal foods (dietary cholesterol)

*  All men age 35 and older

*  Men ages 20-35 and women age 45 and older who are at an increased risk for coronary artery disease

*  Persons with diabetes and/or heart disease

*  LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol

*  HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol

*  VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) cholesterol.

*Note: Your doctor will discuss and prescribe treatment and medication based on your target blood cholesterol numbers, plus other risk factors:

*  Your age and health conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD)

*  Your LDL-cholesterol and 10-year risk for CVD

*  A family history of premature CVD

*  Other CVD risk factors

*  You have had a heart attack or stroke.

*  Cigarette smoking. Secondhand smoke.

*  High blood pressure

*  High LDL-cholesterol level

*  Diabetes or insulin resistance

*  Being overweight or obese.

*  Lack of exercise.

*  Sleep apnea.

*  Being male 45 years+ or female 55 years+

*  Heart disease in a father or brother before age 55; in a mother or sister before age 65

*  Kidney disease

*  Excess alcohol

*  Stress, often with anger, can trigger a heart attack.

*  Metabolic syndrome.

– Waist size ≥ 40 inches for men; ≥ 35 inches for women

– Blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg systolic and/or ≥ 85 mm Hg diastotic or you take medicine to lower blood pressure

– A fasting blood sugar ≥ 100 mg/dL or you have diabetes

– Triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL

– HDL-cholesterol < 40 mg/dL for men; < 50 mg/dL for women.

*  Choose foods low in saturated fat and with zero trans fat. These raise LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood more than anything else in the diet. Read food labels. Trans fats are in foods that have hydrogenated oils.

*  Eat foods with plant sterols and stanols, such as margarines and salad dressings made with these.

*  Choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

*  Limit meat serving sizes. Choose lean cuts of beef, pork and lamb. Trim fat from meat. Choose chicken and turkey. Take the skin off poultry before you eat it.

*  Eat fish 2 to 3 times a week (e.g., salmon). Fish has omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy unsaturated fat. So does cod liver oil. Ask your doctor about fish oil supplements. Find out about mercury and other pollutants in fish fromwww.epa.gov.

*  Get 20 to 35 grams of dietary fiber a day, especially the water-soluble type from oat bran, oatmeal, kidney and other beans, lentils, apples, oranges, and carrots.

*  Eat a variety of whole-grain breads, cereals, and pastas; fruits and vegetables; lentils; beans, etc. These plant foods are low in saturated fat and have no cholesterol (if you do not add fatty toppings and spreads). Have soy milk, soy yogurt, and tofu.

*  Limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women and persons age 65 and older. One drink = 4 to 5 oz. of wine, 12 oz. of beer, or 1-1/2 oz. of 80 proof liquor (whiskey, vodka, etc.).

*  Your doctor may tell you to limit dietary cholesterol to 300 milligrams (mg) a day (200 mg a day if your cholesterol is high).

*  Statins. These help your body make less cholesterol and help the liver remove LDL (bad) cholesterol already in the blood. Examples are lovastatin and pravastatin. Statins lower LDL (bad)cholesterol more than any other type of drugs. They also lower triglycerides and raise HDL (good) cholesterol.

*  Resins. These bind with cholesterol-containing bile acids in the intestines and are then passed in the stool. Examples are cholestyramine and colestipol. These lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

*  Nicotinic Acid or Niacin. This is a B vitamin. You can buy this over-the-counter, but a doctor should prescribe the amount you take and monitor its use. Niacin lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides and raises HDL (good) cholesterol.

*  Fibrates. These medicines lower triglycerides and raise HDL (good) cholesterol. Examples are gemfibrozil and fenofibrate.

*  Take your medication as prescribed. If you have questions, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

*  Tell your doctor about side effects. Common side effects with many cholesterol-lowering medicines are bloating, gas, abdominal pain, constipation, and nausea. Hot flashes or flushing is common with niacin. Ask your doctor how to minimize these side effects. Often they wane with time. Make sure to tell your doctor if you have muscle soreness or weakness, and/or brown urine.