More than 102 million adults in the United States have high cholesterol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These people should eat a low-cholesterol diet to reduce their risk for heart disease. An easy-to-follow diet of this description should not focus solely on numbers, especially if you're just starting a diet to reduce your risk for heart disease. It may be more effective to learn how certain foods affect blood cholesterol, and where these foods come from. Additionally, an easy cholesterol-lowering diet includes heart-healthy choices in food preparation to avoid consuming excess and unnecessary cholesterol.
Sources
Eating too much cholesterol and saturated fats are the main reason for high cholesterol levels, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Saturated fats are those that are solid at room temperature, like the fat along the edge of a cut of steak. Animals create cholesterol in their livers. Cholesterol comes only from animal products. Plants do not produce cholesterol. Decrease your consumption of cholesterol by reducing your intake of meat, eggs and dairy products.
Fat and Cholesterol
Limit your total fat intake to 25 to 35 percent of your daily calories. No more than 7 percent of your calorie intake should be in the form of saturated fat. Reduce trans fat to 1 percent, suggests the American Heart Association. Healthy people should consume less than 300 mg of cholesterol per day; those with heart disease or high cholesterol should aim for less than 200 mg daily.
HDL
Not all of the cholesterol in your bloodstream is unhealthy. High density lipoproteins (HDL) reduce the amount of bad cholesterol -- low density lipoproteins (LDL) -- in your blood. An easy cholesterol-lowering diet includes foods that raise HDL levels. Foods with soluble fiber, like bananas and oatmeal, increase HDL. Eat fish once to twice a week. Certain types of fish, including salmon and mackerel, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which lower cholesterol levels. Other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids are walnuts, almonds and ground flaxseed.
Size
You can increase your HDL up to one point for every six pounds you lose, according to MayoClinic.com. Lose weight by reducing portion sizes and daily calorie intake. One easy way to do this is to draw an imaginary line down the middle of your plate. Fill one half of your plate with vegetables. Draw two more lines in the other half of the plate to create three sections. Fill each section with a portion of meat, whole grains and fruit.
Preparation
You can control the amount of saturated fat, cholesterol, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids by preparing foods at home, substituting unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones. Use fresh ingredients whenever possible, as many processed foods are high in fat, calories, cholesterol and salt. Check the nutrition label on all packaged foods. Use olive or canola oil instead of shortening to reduce cholesterol. Cut excess fat from meat before cooking. Use cholesterol-reducing margarines instead of butter. Replace whole milk and regular cheese with skim and reduced-fat varieties.
