Every time I go to your site to look for menus for lowering cholesterol, I end up back at the Mediterranean Diet for low sodium. I do not have a blood pressure problem or salt/sodium problem, just high cholesterol. When can I expect to get a diet menu for that?
Dr. Gourmet Says....
We know that a lower sodium diet is a healthier diet. The recipes on the Dr. Gourmet website are not designed to be very low sodium (under 2,000 mg per day) but there are many recipes that are lower sodium. Generally speaking, I try to keep main course recipes around 500 mg and side dish recipes at 250 mg or less.
If you are looking at the information on lowering cholesterol at this link:
http://www.drgourmet.com/mediterraneandiet/index.shtml
the information is on the Mediterranean style diet because we know that this is one of the best ways to lower cholesterol. This healthy style of eating is mostly lower in sodium.
If you are using The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan, there is a (very) low sodium option, but by not choosing this you will get recipes that are higher in sodium (that is, under 500mg for main course recipes and around 250mg for side dishes).
Many folks are used to higher sodium levels and salty foods. We do know that your taste buds can learn to enjoy lower salt recipes. Here's an article about that: Do Your Salt Taste Buds Learn?
You can begin teaching your salt taste buds by making the recipes as posted on the website, then adding salt to your food at the table. Over time you can reduce the amount of salt you add until the recipes taste right without added salt.
Thanks for your great question,
Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.
Dr. Gourmet