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Ham & Cholesterol

May 28, 2011 | By Kathryn Gilhuly
Ham & Cholesterol
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To keep your blood cholesterol within heart-healthy guidelines, follow a diet that contains limited amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, sugar and dietary cholesterol. Animal products are the main sources of saturated fat and cholesterol. Ham contains both saturated fat and cholesterol, although less than many proteins. You can safely include ham on a cholesterol-reducing diet.

Healthy Cholesterol Levels

You should aim to keep your total cholesterol level below 200 mg/dl. Your total cholesterol score includes the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in your bloodstream plus a percentage of your triglycerides, a type of fat. A healthy level of LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, should fall below 100 mg/dl if you are at risk for developing cardiovascular disease. High levels of HDL, or "good," cholesterol, protect you against heart disease. Aim to keep HDL levels above 60 mg/dl. Your triglycerides should stay below 150 mg/dl and, ideally, below 100 mg/dl.

Ham and Cholesterol

A heart-healthy diet should include no more than 16 to 22 g of saturated fat, no more than 2 g of trans fat, up to 200 to 300 mg of cholesterol and between 100 and 300 calories from sugar. Baked ham fits comfortably within these guidelines. A 3 ½ oz. serving of ham contains 53 mg of cholesterol and 2 g of saturated fat. Skinless chicken, by comparison, contains 85 mg of cholesterol and 1 g of saturated fat.

Considerations

To keep your ham heart-healthy, remove visible fat. Also don't add honey, maple syrup or brown sugar. Processed ham -- luncheon meat for example -- may contain high amounts of fat as well as additional sodium and other chemicals. Avoid a breakfast of ham and eggs. A single egg contains 212 mg of cholesterol. Two eggs and a 3 ½ oz. serving of ham would bring your cholesterol total to 477 mg. If you want to include ham in your breakfast menu, add it to an egg white omelet -- egg whites contain no cholesterol.

Cholesterol Math

You don't need as much protein in your diet as you may think. Most people need just 5 to 6 oz. a day. You could consume 6 oz. of ham a day without exceeding the lower-limit guidelines for dietary cholesterol -- provided you avoid high cholesterol foods the rest of the day. In addition to eggs, foods high in cholesterol include organ meats and fatty cuts of beef. The cholesterol amounts in dairy products can also add up. If you topped a ham sandwich with a slice of cheddar cheese, for instance, you would add 30 mg of cholesterol and 6 g of saturated fat. A cup of whole milk would add 33 mg of cholesterol and 5 g of saturated fat.

References

Article reviewed by Mia Paul Last updated on: May 28, 2011

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