Cholesterol serves a variety of purposes in the body such as building cell walls. Excess cholesterol can also accumulate in the arterial walls, which can increase the risk of heart disease. People with a high coronary risk will generally benefit by greatly reducing their intake of dietary cholesterol.
Cholesterol Level
The concentration of free cholesterol in the blood should ideally be less than 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dl) for optimum health. A cholesterol level between 200 mg/dl and 240 mg/dl slightly increases the risk of heart disease, and a cholesterol level greater than 240 mg/dl significantly increases the risk of heart disease. People with a normal risk of heart disease should limit their consumption of dietary cholesterol to 300 mg/day. Those with an increased risk of heart disease should consume no more than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol per day.
Low-Cholesterol Foods
Whole grains should form a major part of any low-cholesterol diet. These include whole wheat, oats, barley and quinoa. Beans such as lentils, kidneys and garbanzos are also generally low in cholesterol.
Meat and Dairy Products
A diet that's low in cholesterol generally requires you to reduce or eliminate your intake of most animal products. Red meats, especially organ meats, are high in cholesterol. These meats should be replaced with leaner cuts of meat. Dairy products such as whole milk, cheese and butter should be replaced with skim milk products.
Eggs
Egg yolks are high in cholesterol, although the whites are virtually cholesterol free. A variety of egg substitutes that are low in cholesterol are commercially available. These products essentially consist of egg whites dyed yellow with food coloring.
Fats
A low-cholesterol diet should replace cooking oils based on animal fat with vegetable oils. Cooking oils that are low in cholesterol include canola oil, olive oil and peanut oil. Fats should compose only about 30 percent of your total caloric intake. Saturated fats are especially high in cholesterol and shouldn't contribute more than 10 percent to your daily intake.
