Almost everyone knows that too much cholesterol can block your arteries and potentially cause health problems. But not everyone knows the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines for daily cholesterol intake, which foods have lots of cholesterol and the symptoms of high cholesterol.
Defining cholesterol
Produced by the liver, cholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance that is found in every cell in your body. We produce plenty of it from fats sugars and proteins but we only consume it from eating animal products.
USDA guidelines for cholesterol
According to the USDA, the fat and cholesterol guidelines for Americans includes:
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Avoid all trans fats.
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Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats.
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Aim to get less than 10% of your total daily calories from saturated fats.
The Food and Drug Administration used to warn Americans not to consume more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, but a new review of studies indicates that there may not be any evidence linked dietary cholesterol to cardiovascular disease.
Best and worst foods for cholesterol
Any foods that come from animals or are made from animal byproducts contain cholesterol. So, in addition to beef, pork, poultry and fish, this includes egg yolks, cheese, milk and butter.
However, not all foods that contain cholesterol are high in saturated fats, which is really what you should be avoiding. So, you can opt for lean turkey instead of processed meats, such as bacon. Or choose low-fat cottage cheese instead of full-fat cheese or ice cream. Skip the French fries and order a baked potato and substitute the ice cream for nonfat yogurt.
Symptoms of too much cholesterol
Although high cholesterol doesn’t usually come with a bunch of symptoms, it can cause life-threatening events, such as stroke or heart attack. Of course, no one wants to rely on a major health scare to know they’ve got high cholesterol, so aim to get blood work done every 5 years or so to find out how your cholesterol fares.
