A high
cholesterol diet can increase blood
cholesterol. Making dietary changes can help reduce or control
cholesterol levels. A diet for people with high cholesterol focuses on plant-based products -- such as vegetables and legumes -- while cutting back on animal-based products. This diet should also contain less than 2,400 mg of salt per day, less than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol per day, and a total fat intake of 25 to 35 percent of the day's total calories, among other things.
Two important things to keep in mind when moving from a high cholesterol diet to a healthier eating plan are that cholesterol is found only in animal-based foods (such as meats and dairy products) and that certain fats have also been shown to increase cholesterol, regardless of whether they came from an animal. While changing from a high cholesterol diet to a healthier eating plan is not always easy, it can offer many health benefits.
(Click High Cholesterol Diet for the full eMedTV article, which explains which foods you should eat as part of a low cholesterol diet, how many servings you should eat per day, and which foods you should limit. You can also click any of the links in the box to the right for specific information.)
