Low-cholesterol foods

Description
Healthful changes in your diet can often help control elevated blood cholesterol or triglyceride (a fat in the blood the body produces largely from sugar, alcohol or excess calories) levels. If you're coping with either of these conditions, your doctor may suggest decreasing the amount of fat and cholesterol in your diet, as well as increasing your intake of soluble fiber. If you're overweight, your doctor may also suggest that you decrease your total calories per day to lose weight.

Fats
You will probably be told to reduce the total amount of fat you eat, especially saturated fats. Saturated fat plays a major role in elevating cholesterol levels -- a bigger role than cholesterol itself. Saturated fat is found in a variety of foods, including meat (especially red meat), butter, whole milk, cheese, regular ice cream and pastries. Also, food containing large amounts of trans fatty acids can increase cholesterol levels by behaving like saturated fat in the body. Trans fats are abundant in stick margarine, shortening and bakery products such as cookies and pie crust.
Generally, it is recommended that you limit your total daily fat intake to 30 percent or less of your daily caloric intake. Saturated fats should account for less than 10 percent of this total, and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats should make up the remainder. A new report from the National Academies' Institute of Medicine recommends adults get 20 to 35 percent of their daily calories from fat. As a guideline, if you eat 2,000 calories a day, keep your total fat intake to about 67 grams (which is about 30 percent of total calories). Saturated fats should amount to no more than 22 grams a day. Your doctor may recommend a more restrictive fat-reduction diet if you are at risk for heart disease.


Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance produced by the liver. After infancy, your body makes all the cholesterol it needs to survive. Any extra cholesterol you eat may contribute to heart disease. Like saturated fats, cholesterol is found in foods from animal sources, such as meat, egg yolks, fish, poultry and high-fat dairy products. However, there is no cholesterol in plant foods. As a guideline, consume no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol a day unless your doctor directs differently. To put it in perspective, an average egg yolk has 213 milligrams of cholesterol.

Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber may help maintain overall health. It's usually found in foods that may help protect you from colon cancer and heart disease. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble.
Insoluble fiber holds water and pulls it into the intestines. By helping food move through the intestinal tract, this type of fiber helps keep you "regular," as well as prevents the buildup of bacteria that can possibly increase risk of colon cancer. Although it's not clear from recent studies whether dietary fiber itself decreases the risk of cancer, it is clear that eating plant-based foods (which are naturally high in fiber) helps protect you from cancer. Insoluble fiber is found in vegetables, whole-grain products, and the skins of fruits and root vegetables.

Soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol levels. This type of fiber may pull fat from the bloodstream into the intestines and then promote its removal from the body. Eating more soluble fiber can help lower your total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (often referred to as the LDL or "bad" cholesterol). Soluble fiber is found in oats, dried beans, fruits and vegetables.
Most dietitians recommend eating at least 20 to 35 grams of fiber every day. Most people get far less, however.


Dietary changes
Consider the following simple steps toward a healthy diet:
Eat more high-fiber foods.
Choose foods with the least amount of saturated fat. Also avoid hydrogenated fats -- they are usually high in saturated fat and trans fats.
Avoid products made with palm and coconut oils. Use olive or canola oil in cooking. When you can, use olive oil in place of butter.
Choose lean meat and trim visible fat. Limit your meat intake to three ounces per serving.
Instead of bacon, use lean ham or Canadian bacon.
Focus on a low-fat diet of mostly vegetables, fruits, beans and grain products, especially whole grains.
Choose poultry without skin.
When baking, substitute two egg whites for one egg, or try an egg substitute (¼ cup = 1 egg). If you eat eggs, limit to three or four per week.
In restaurants, request salad dressing on the side and use sparingly.
Instead of butter, flavor vegetables with lemon, orange, flavored vinegar, herbs or spices.
Switch to low-fat or nonfat dairy products, including milk and ice cream.
Eat whole-grain breads, cereals, rice, pasta and other grains low in fat.
Try meatless main courses. Experiment with beans or tofu as substitutes.
For snacks and desserts, eat fruits and vegetables.
Avoid hot dogs and other processed meats, coconut, fried foods and regular mayonnaise.

Food choices
To help you eat more healthfully, try the following substitutions.
Instead of this: Eat this:
bacon and eggs whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk and sliced fruit
tuna salad sandwich turkey sandwich with mustard
greasy fries baked potato
potato chips pretzels
alfredo sauce marinara sauce
sautéed veggies steamed veggies
ice cream fat-free ice cream or frozen yogurt with fresh fruit topping
pie angel food cake
whole milk skim milk
real eggs or egg yolks egg substitutes
icing powdered sugar
margarine (to grease pans) nonstick cooking spray