Cholesterol Diet for Kids

Kids with high cholesterol are at greater risk of growing up to have health problems including stroke and heart disease, according to KidsHealth, a part of the Nemours Foundation. If your child has been diagnosed with high cholesterol, he may not need medication to lower his numbers just yet. The pediatrician will likely recommend making some healthy lifestyle changes, including a revamping of your child's diet, to reduce your child's cholesterol naturally.

Dietary Fiber

Your child should be taking in enough grams of daily dietary fiber to equal her age plus five, according to KidsHealth. Fiber is found in foods such as beans and whole grains, but soluble fiber, in particular, can help reduce your child's level of low-density lipoprotein or "bad" cholesterol, according to MayoClinic.com. Find soluble fiber in foods such as prunes, barley, kidney beans and oatmeal. Just by adding a banana to 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal, you can offer your child 10 g toward her daily fiber needs, says MayoClinic.com.

Healthy Fats

Your child's daily intake of dietary fat should be 30 to 35 percent of his diet if he is 2 to 3 years old and 25 to 35 percent of his diet if he is at least 4 years old, says the American Heart Association. However, the majority of your child's fat intake should be "healthy" poly- and mono-unsaturated fats, found in foods such as nuts, avocados, fish and foods prepared with vegetable oils, according to the American Heart Association. These unsaturated fats can increase your child's "good," or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which can help clear the body of some "bad" cholesterol, according to Children's Hospital Boston.

Fortified Foods

Sterols or stanols are plant-derived substances that help reduce the amount of cholesterol your child's body can absorb, according to MayoClinic.com. Look for foods and drinks in the grocery store that have been fortified with plant sterols. Consuming juices, margarines and yogurt beverages that have been fortified with sterols can help reduce "bad" cholesterol by at least 10 percent, says MayoClinic.com.

Dietary Cholesterol and Less Healthy Fats

Children and teens should consume fewer than 300 mg of dietary cholesterol per day, make saturated fats under 7 percent of daily calories and make trans fats less than 1 percent of daily calories, recommends the American Heart Association. To lower your child's intake of cholesterol and saturated fat, cut back on her intake of foods such as red meat and whole-fat dairy products, recommends Children's Hospital Boston. Also reduce your child's intake of egg yolks to reduce her dietary cholesterol intake. Reduce her intake of trans fats by limiting her intake of commercially baked treats and fried foods, says WhattoExpect.com.

Cutting Calories

Your child will naturally eat fewer calories if you feed him foods rich in tummy-filling fiber and low in heart-risky fats, but you should have an idea of how many calories your child is eating if he is also overweight, says Children's Hospital Boston. If he is packing on calories, reduce his intake by keeping only nutritious snacks in the house, limiting his meal portion sizes and giving him seconds of only fruits and vegetables if he asks for more food.