Cholesterol and triglycerides are lipids or fat produced by your body when you eat carbs, proteins and fats. Cholesterol, the starter material for many hormones in the body, transports necessary fats to cells. Your total cholesterol needs to be under 200 mg/dL. Your LDL or bad cholesterol should be under 130mg/dL and your HDL or good cholesterol is recommended to be above 40mg/dL. Any time you eat, some of the excess calories are made into triglycerides and taken to the fat cells through out your body. Recommended levels for triglycerides are less than 150mg/dL, according to the website Medline Plus.
Fat Intake
Total cholesterol intake is 200 mg per day, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in "Your Guide to Lowering Your Cholesterol with TLC." Plant oils are rich in monounsaturated fat that help reduce your LDL cholesterol and raise your HDL cholesterol. Depending on your triglyceride reading, your dietary fat intake may be restricted to 50g or 60g per day. This is a treatment option for people with triglyceride levels above 500mg/dL. Your health care provider can give you specifics on how many fat grams you should eat to lower your triglyceride level.
Soluble Fiber
Fiber helps bind cholesterol eaten in food and fills you up to reduce your calorie intake. Increasing your intake of soluble fiber 10 g to 25 g per day lowers cholesterol levels, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Soluble fiber binds cholesterol and fat in your intestines and decreases absorption to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Plant sterols and stanols act like soluble fiber in your small intestine and decrease cholesterol absorption from food. Add plant sterols and stanols up to 2 g per day. Plant sterols can be found in margarine and other dairy products, such as yogurt, but also soybeans, rice and wheat brans and corn oil.
Meat Significance
Choose meats with the least amount of marbling of fat inside the muscle and trim off all visible fat before cooking. Removing skin from turkey and chicken reduces your saturated fat intake. To improve triglyceride levels, focus on having white meats, such as chicken breast and turkey cutlets. Choose beef and pork cuts that end in loin, because these are the leaner cuts of meat. Each serving of lean meat provides 3 g of fat per oz., so a 4 oz. serving of sirloin gives you 12 g of total fat. The fats from meat is part of your fat recommendation given to you by your health care provider, so focus on eating smaller portions and add vegetarian foods to decrease your meat intake.
Carbohydrates
Excessive calories from carbs and refined sugars can increase your triglyceride levels. Diets that provide more than 60 percent calories from carbohydrates are at risk of elevating your triglyceride levels US Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing your intake of simple sugars and dessert items lowers your carb intake. Focus on having fresh fruit as a sweet treat. Switch to whole-grain breads instead of enriched white or wheat bread. Avoid desserts made with sugar. Sweeten beverages with low-calorie sweeteners sugar as stevia blends, sucralose or aspartame.
Trans Fats Effects
Trans fats are made by taking liquid vegetable oil and changing the liquid to a solid in order to make the fat last longer. Packaged food contains trans fats because the trans fats extend the shelf life, or increases the time it takes a food to spoil. When reading food labels, choose foods that contain no trans fats. Trans fats can be more harmful than saturated fat, increasing unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Look for words, such as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated soybean or vegetable oil on the labels; these are indicators that the packaged food item contains trans fats.
Fat Intake Levels
High triglyceride levels may necessitate limiting your fat intake based on the number of calories you take in. According to Personal Dietitians, for high triglycerides your fat intake should be between five to 10 percent of your daily calories. The current recommendation for cholesterol and fat intake with the TLC diet developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services is 300 mg and 30 percent fat with less than 7 percent coming from animal or saturated fat. If these guidelines don't resolve your triglyceride issue, you are recommended to lower your intake to 200 mg of cholesterol and 20 percent calories from fat and maintaining lowest possible level of saturated fat. If your triglycerides are above 500 mg/dL, speak with your health care provider about how much you should restrict your fat intake.
