Knowing which foods are high in dietary cholesterol is important because high-cholesterol foods are a major factor in raising blood cholesterol levels, and high blood cholesterol levels are a major risk factor in heart disease. Dietary cholesterol is found only in foods of animal origin, notes the U.S. government's "Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC" report. The report recommends eating fewer than 200 mg of cholesterol daily if your blood cholesterol is above 200 mg per deciliter.
Eggs
Eggs have so much dietary cholesterol that eating one daily increases your heart attack risk by 2.1 percent, according to "An Invitation to Health," a college textbook. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Cholesterol Content of Selected Foods" chart shows that eggs have more dietary cholesterol than every food except chicken giblets, turkey giblets and liver. One extra-large raw egg has 216 mg of dietary cholesterol, one large egg has 186 mg, and one poached, fried and scrambled egg have 185, 184 and 169 mg, respectively. The USDA's daily dietary cholesterol recommendation is fewer than 300 mg.
Egg yolks contain virtually all of an egg's dietary cholesterol, while egg whites have close to none. Substituting egg whites for egg yolks in recipes is an important way to reduce dietary cholesterol and fat, according to "The Well Adult," by Dr. Mike Samuels and Nancy Samuels.
Dairy
Adding dairy foods to the diets of vegetarians increases their heart disease risk by decreasing their "good" blood cholesterol, according to "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease." Ornish concluded that "putting much less (dietary) cholesterol and saturated fat" into your body is a better way of reducing blood cholesterol than taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Dairy products with the most dietary cholesterol per serving include ricotta cheese, whole milk and cheese sauce, with 125, 104 and 92 mg, respectively, according to the USDA's cholesterol chart. Substituting low-fat dairy products for high-fat dairy products and skim-milk cheeses for high-fat cheeses are the first two recommendations for reducing dietary cholesterol and fat in "The Well Adult."
Fish
Choosing the right fish to eat is important if you're concerned about dietary cholesterol. "Avoid or limit use of shellfish," recommends "The Well Adult," which reports that lobsters, oysters and shrimp have 225, 225 and 140 mg of dietary cholesterol per serving, respectively. Clams and crabs also have more than 100 mg of dietary cholesterol, according to a chart in Ornish's book.
On the other hand, cold-water fish have a lot of omega-3 fatty acid, which reduces total and bad cholesterol levels, Ornish wrote. Fish with a lot of omega-3 fatty acids have low amounts of dietary cholesterol. They include mackerel, at 33 mg; herring, 24 mg; sardines, 17 mg; and salmon, 10 mg.
Meat
Eating the right meat is also important if you're concerned about dietary cholesterol. "The Well Adult" reports that veal has more dietary cholesterol than beef, prime cuts have more than lean meat, animal products with fat and/or skin have more than when they lack fat and skin, and fried foods have more than baked, boiled and steamed foods.
References
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Cholesterol Content of Selected Foods
- "An Invitation to Health"; Dianne Hales; 2003
- "The Well Adult"; Dr. Mike Samuels and Nancy Samuels; 1988
- "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease"; Dr. Dean Ornish; 1996
