A 300 mg Cholesterol Diet

If you need to lower your dietary cholesterol, your efforts might include a change in the amount and type of fats you consume. Animal products, containing both cholesterol and saturated fat, can clog your arteries and put you at higher risk of heart disease. If you want to keep your daily cholesterol below 300 mg a day, you may need to reduce your reliance on meat, poultry, seafood, cheese, eggs and dairy products.

Dietary Fat Guidelines

MayoClinic.com recommends that healthy adults consume no more than 300 mg of dietary cholesterol daily. If factors, such as your age, weight and medical conditions, make you especially vulnerable to heart disease, keep cholesterol below 200 mg daily. You should also limit your overall consumption of fats to 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories, saturated fats to no more than 10 percent of daily calories and trans fat to no more than 1 percent of daily calories. Many foods that contain cholesterol also contain saturated fat, so reducing dietary cholesterol can also reduce your intake of saturated fats. To reduce trans fat, avoid foods containing margarine and shortening.

Meat and Poultry

You can include lean meat and poultry on a 300 mg-a-day cholesterol diet if you exercise portion control. But you must keep you keep portions small. Certain sources of animal protein contain less than 100 mg of cholesterol per 3.5 oz. serving including lean ground beef with 78 mg, ham with 53 mg, skinless chicken with 85 mg; sirloin with 85 mg, and pork tenderloin with 79 mg. Tuna packed in water contains just 30 mg of cholesterol per 3.5-oz serving.

Eggs and Dairy

You should eat few eggs and choose low-fat dairy over whole-fat to keep your cholesterol intake below 300 mg daily. A single egg contains 212 mg of cholesterol. If you drink three glasses of whole milk, you add 99 mg to your cholesterol totals for the day. Choose non-fat milk instead and you add only 12 mg. Non-fat yogurt also contains less cholesterol than whole-fat. In 1 cup of whole-fat yogurt, there's 29 mg of cholesterol, but just 10 mg in the same size serving of non-fat yogurt. Watch cheese consumption. A 1-oz. slice of cheddar cheese, while a good source of calcium and protein, contains 30 mg of cholesterol.

Cholesterol-Free Foods

Fruits and vegetables contain no cholesterol. You can eat your full day's supply -- about six servings -- without concern. If you substitute vegetable protein for some animal protein, this can help you keep within your 300 mg-per-day limit. Good sources of vegetable protein include tofu, kidney beans and black beans. Grains also contain no cholesterol and don't count toward your daily limit. The fiber in some grains, fruits and vegetables, like brown rice, apples and lima beans, can also help you reduce unhealthy LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, in your bloodstream. Other foods that contain no dietary cholesterol and can improve your cholesterol levels include nuts, olive oil and oatmeal.

A 300 mg Cholesterol Diet

Dietary Fat Guidelines

Meat and Poultry

Eggs and Dairy

Cholesterol-Free Foods

References

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