Cholesterol Diet

Heart disease and heart attacks continue to be among the leading causes of death in Americans.

If you suffer from heart disease or are at high risk of developing it, your doctor may recommend that you go on a cholesterol diet.

A cholesterol diet is a low fat diet that can help reduce your blood cholesterol level. A reduced blood cholesterol level will minimize the chance of having a future heart attack as well as heart disease in general.

To have a low cholesterol diet, you should minimize your daily intake of saturated fat calories to 7% and fat to 25-35% of your total daily calories.

Limit your sodium intake to no more than 2400 milligrams daily.

Because you need eat enough calories to maintain a healthy weight while restricting fats and sodium, it is best to speak with your physician or dietician to learn your daily caloric needs, as well as ways to modify your current diet appropriately.

If a low cholesterol diet does not lower your blood cholesterol enough, consider increasing the soluble fiber in your diet, as well as including more cholesterol-lowering foods. In addition, your doctor may determine that pharmaceuticals are necessary to lower your cholesterol sufficiently.

If you want to dine out while maintaining your cholesterol diet, the following tips may help:

* Learn which restaurants provide menu choices consistent with your dietary needs.
* Consider sharing your entrée with your dinner companion, or only eat half, and take the rest home. Better yet, you can also ask for appetizer-sized servings or a side dish.
* Request that gravy, butter, rich sauces and dressings be provided on the side. This makes it much easier for you to control the fat that is added to your meal.
* Substitute items like French fries with extra vegetables or salad.
* When you order pizza, order one with vegetable toppings (green pepper, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms) instead of meat or extra cheese. You can also order a pizza with only half cheese, or even no cheese at all.
* While in general you should avoid fast-food restaurants, if you must eat on the go, order salads, grilled skinless chicken sandwiches (fried and breaded are a no-no), regular-sized hamburgers or roast beef sandwiches. Avoid large burgers or sandwiches and French fries.
* Choose dishes that are cooked with a low fat method (broiled, steamed, au jus, garden fresh, baked, roasted, poached, tomato juice, or dry boiled are examples.)
* Be mindful of dishes that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. (Key menu phrases to avoid include butter sauce, fried, crispy, creamed, au gratin, au fromage, escalloped, parmesan, hollandaise, béarnaise, marinated, stewed, basted, sautéed, casserole and pastry crust)

Take note that as you lose weight, your calorie needs may also need to be lowered, which in turn reduces your daily limit of fat and saturated fat. Do not hesitate to consult your physician or dietician if you have questions regarding your cholesterol diet.