Your blood cholesterol levels reflect both unchangeable facts -- your age, sex and medical history -- and lifestyle choices and diet, which you can alter. If you drink more than one or two alcoholic beverages a day, smoke or get little or no exercise, you can change these habits to improve your heart health. You can also help reduce your cholesterol by adding fiber and including less cholesterol, saturated fat and trans fat in your meals.
Fiber, Cholesterol and Fat Guidelines
The American Dietetic Association recommends that you get about 14 g of fiber for every 1,000 calories in your diet. This amounts to about 25 g for women and 38 g for men -- much more than the 15 g the average American adult consumes daily. To help keep your total cholesterol within heart-healthy guidelines of 200 mg/dL or less, MayoClinic.com recommends your daily diet include no more than 200 mg to 300 mg of cholesterol, between 16 g and 22 g of saturated fat, no more than 2 g of trans fat and between 44 g and 78 g of total fat.
Fiber Sources
Fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes provide fiber. You can fulfill about half of your recommended amount of daily fiber by eating 1 cup of kidney, black, pinto or lima beans and 1 cup of brown rice. Other good sources of dietary fiber include wheat bran, oatmeal, berries, citrus fruit, fruit with edible skin, spinach and kale. Soluble fiber, which dissolves somewhat in water, may prove especially helpful in lowering cholesterol, but the ADA says other attributes of fiber may prove equally important. Include both soluble fiber, found in apples and oatmeal, and insoluble fiber, found in broccoli, nuts and seeds, in your diet.
Reduce Saturated Fat and Trans Fat
Plant foods contain no cholesterol and most contain little or no saturated fat, so most foods high in fiber will also help you keep your fat intake within recommended levels. To keep dietary cholesterol within guidelines, eat little or no beef liver, chicken liver, eggs or shrimp. Avoid whole dairy products -- choose nonfat or low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese instead. You can reduce saturated fat by choosing more fish and skinless chicken than beef. When you do eat beef, choose extra-lean cuts, such as top round steak, and keep portions small. Margarine and shortening contain trans fat. Use healthier oils -- canola and olive -- when cooking at home and check nutrition labels for trans fats before purchasing baked goods or processed snacks.
Considerations
When you add fiber and reduce fat in your diet, you may lose weight and reduce your risk of heart disease. Fat contains a lot of calories -- about 100 calories in 1 tbsp. -- so cutting back on fatty meats, fried foods and pastries can quickly reduce your calorie intake. High-fiber diets are also linked to lower body weights. Foods high in fiber fill you up faster and keep you feeling full longer than foods low in fiber. An orange, for example, provides greater satiety than pulp-free orange juice. Fiber may also lower your blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
References
- American Dietetic Association; Health Implications of Dietary Fiber; October 2008
- MayoClinic.com; High Cholesterol; June 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork With These Nutrition Guidelines; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; High-Fiber Foods; November 2009
- University of California San Francisco; Cholesterol Content of Foods; February 2011
