Kids who have been diagnosed with high cholesterol are at increased risk of health problems including high blood pressure and diabetes, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. If your child has high cholesterol, make some simple dietary adjustments for your entire family to help reduce her chances of having health problems later in life.
Plant-Based Foods
Offer your child a diet rich in plant-based foods such as grains, fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of dietary fiber, which can help reduce your child's cholesterol; whole grain foods such as brown rice, whole-wheat bread and whole-wheat flour also promote heart health, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Other plant-based foods, including tofu, dried beans and lentils, are healthy sources of protein.
Healthy Fat Intake
Although you should ask your pediatrician about your child's fat needs, the American Heart Association recommends that kids between two and three years old should eat enough fat to make up 30 to 35 percent of their diet, and kids aged 4 and over should make fat 25 to 35 percent of their calories. Most of this fat should be mono- and polyunsaturated, found in foods such as nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils. These foods -- especially flaxseeds and fish such as salmon -- contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce your child's cholesterol.
Less Healthy Fats
Limit your child's saturated fat intake to under 7 percent of his daily calories and trans fat to under 1 percent of his daily calories, says the American Heart Association. You will naturally limit your child's intake of saturated fat and trans fat if you focus his diet on plant-based foods and some lean meats. Trans fats can deal an especially harsh blow to your child's cholesterol levels by raising his "bad" cholesterol and lowering his "good" cholesterol. They can be found in margarines and foods such as prepackaged cookies, snack cakes and crackers, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Dietary Cholesterol
Your child should be taking in 300mg or under of dietary cholesterol, says MayoClinic.com. However, her doctor may recommend 200mg or under if her cholesterol is already high. Foods rich in cholesterol are egg yolks, whole milk and whole milk products and organ meats.
Sample Meals
Breakfast time is an opportune time for fiber-rich foods, says the American Academy of Family Physicians. Offer your child whole-grain toast and a banana, oatmeal topped with blueberries or a whole-grain muffin and low-fat yogurt with fresh strawberries mixed in. Also prepare your child's lunchtime sandwich with whole-grain or whole-wheat bread; make a peanut butter and banana sandwich using peanut butter that contains little salt and no partially-hydrogenated oils. Alternately, prepare a tuna fish sandwich with just a small portion of mayonnaise. For dinner, offer your child whole grain crackers alongside a lean turkey, kidney bean and vegetable-rich chili, and surprise her with a colorful fruit salad for dessert.
