To reduce cholesterol, you should limit your overall fat intake as well as specifically target three types of potentially dangerous dietary fat: cholesterol, saturated fat and trans fat. If you cook at home, you can replace some of these fats with healthier oils and make careful choices about the types of protein and dairy you include in your menus.
Dietary Fat and Cholesterol
A cholesterol-reducing diet should limit your daily intake of dietary cholesterol to between 200 and 300 mg. Observe the lower amount if your medical history or lifestyle puts you at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease. MayoClinic.com also recommends that you limit saturated fat to between 7 and 10 percent of your daily calories, or about 16 to 22 g. You should keep your consumption of trans fat very low, to no more than 2 g or 1 percent of your daily calories. Your total fat should take up between 20 and 35 percent of your total daily calories -- about 44 to 78 g. Adding fiber to your diet can help lower your cholesterol. Women should aim to include about 25 g of fiber in their diets and men 38 g.
Breakfast
Begin your day with a high-fiber, low-fat breakfast. A bowl of oatmeal cooked with 1 cup nonfat milk and topped with a sliced apple and 1 oz. of almonds provides nearly 12 g of fiber, 4 mg of cholesterol and no saturated fat. Both almonds and oatmeal make the MayoClinic.com Top 5 list of foods to lower your cholesterol. Other healthy options include multigrain toast topped with peanut butter and banana or low-fat yogurt with raspberries and flaxseed.
Lunch
At lunch, a grilled chicken sandwich makes a better choice than a hamburger. Chicken contains more cholesterol than lean ground beef -- 85 mg compared to 78 mg -- but just 1 g of saturated fat compared to the 7 g in a beef patty. Cholesterol and saturated fat contents are based on 3 1/2 oz. servings. Other good choices include black beans over brown rice, providing little or no fat and 18.5 g of fiber if you eat 1 cup of each. You could also create a healthy salad with leafy greens, berries and nuts. You could toss with a low-fat yogurt dressing, an olive oil and vinegar dressing or just sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.
Dinner
Keep your dinner low in fat by being careful about your choice of protein and stick to portions no larger than 3 1/2 oz. Water-packed tuna contains 30 mg of cholesterol and no saturated fat, while salmon contains 63 mg of cholesterol and 2 g of saturated fat. If you want to include beef at dinner, choose extra-lean cuts. By law, eye of round and other cuts of beef labeled "extra lean" contain no more than 95 mg of cholesterol, 2 g of saturated fat and 5 g of total fat per 3 1/2 oz. serving.
References
- MayoClinic.com; High-Fiber Foods; November 2009
- University of California San Francisco; Cholesterol Content of Foods; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork With These Nutrition Guidelines; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; High Cholesterol: Top 5 Foods to Lower Your Numbers; May 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Cuts of Beef: A Guide to the Leanest Selections; November 2010
- American Dietetic Association; Health Implications of Dietary Fiber; October 2008
