Dietary
Recommendations For Controlling Cholesterol
* Limit your intake
of dietary cholesterol
Dietary cholesterol can raise your
blood cholesterol level. According to recent national nutrition surveys,
the average American man gets about 337 milligrams of cholesterol a day
from food – the average woman, about 217 milligrams. The American Heart
Association recommends that you limit cholesterol from food to an average
of no more than 300 milligrams per day (note: people with coronary
heart disease should limit their intake to under 200 miligrams per day).
* Limit your intake of saturated fat and
trans fatty acids
Saturated fat, trans fatty acids and dietary cholesterol raise blood
cholesterol, but monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats don't (some
studies suggest that they might even help lower LDL cholesterol slightly).
It is important to "know your fats"!
The chart
below summarizes the limitation we should place
on our consumption of dietary cholesterol and fats
| |
Total
Fat |
Saturated
Fat |
Cholesterol
|
| People
without coronary heart disease |
25-35%
or less of total calories |
Less than 7%
of total calories |
Less
than 300 mg per day |
| People
with coronary heart disease |
25-35%
or less of total calories |
Less
than 7% of total calories |
Less
than 200 mg per day |
|
