You can't eat too little cholesterol because your body makes all it needs for healthy functioning. But you can eat too much dietary cholesterol and other potentially harmful fats that can accumulate in your bloodstream and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. A healthy diet limits cholesterol to recommended limits.
Cholesterol Numbers
All adults should keep their daily intake of cholesterol to fewer than 300 mg, according to MayoClinic.com. If you're at high risk for a heart attack or stroke, however, keep your consumption of cholesterol to 200 mg. Your risk increases with age. Family history of heart disease and habits such as smoking can also increase your risk. Being overweight or sedentary also makes you more susceptible to heart disease. If you've already experienced a heart attack or stroke or have been diagnosed with blockages in your leg, arm or neck arteries, keep your cholesterol intake below 200 mg daily.
Foods to Eat and Avoid
If you're in the high risk category, eating a single egg puts you over your daily quota and eating a 3-½ oz. portion of shrimp would put you just 6 mg shy of your 200 mg limit. Organ meats such as chicken and beef liver don't fit into any type of low-cholesterol diet. You can still eat red meat on a 200 mg or 300 mg diet if you choose carefully and keep portions small. You can eat unlimited amounts of fruits, vegetables and grains as only animal products contain cholesterol.
Meal Planning
Keeping your cholesterol intake within daily recommendations requires planning of the type and amounts of animal products you consume. If you want to eat a 7 oz. portion of beef sirloin steak for dinner, accommodate for this 178 mg of cholesterol when planning your breakfast and lunch plans. If you're restricting your cholesterol to 200 mg daily, you couldn't eat more than 2 oz. of water-packed tuna or 1 oz. of ham earlier in the day. If you follow a 300 mg cholesterol diet, you could eat a 3-½ oz. serving of skinless chicken or lean ground beef for lunch and a glass of non-fat milk for breakfast. You could also eat an egg, containing 212 mg of cholesterol, and a 3-½ oz. portion of skinless chicken, containing 85 mg of cholesterol, if you consumed no other meat, poultry, fish, cheese, milk or yogurt on the same day.
Portion Control
Practice portion control. A low-cholesterol diet can more easily accommodate a 3-½ oz. steak than a 7 oz. or larger piece. In addition to lowering dietary cholesterol, lower you intake of saturated fats, found in animal products and tropical oils. Keep your consumption of saturated fats to 7 to 10 percent of your daily calories or about 16 to 22 g. Also, keep a check on trans fat, found in commercial baked goods, shortening and margarine. A healthy low-cholesterol diet includes about 2 g of trans fat -- 1 percent of your daily calories.
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