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Posts about cholesterol from Well, Tara Parker-Pope’s blog about health and wellness.
Posts about cholesterol from Well, Tara Parker-Pope’s blog about health and wellness.
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Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found in all parts of the body. Your body makes some cholesterol, and some cholesterol comes from the food you eat. Your body needs a little bit of cholesterol to work properly. But too much cholesterol can clog your arteries and lead to heart disease. This article focuses on cholesterol and your diet.
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Cholesterol helps the body produce hormones, bile acid, and vitamin D. Cholesterol moves through the bloodstream to be used by all parts of the body.
Cholesterol is found in eggs, dairy products, meat, and poultry. Egg yolks and organ meats (liver, kidney, sweetbread, and brain) are high in cholesterol. Fish generally contains less cholesterol than other meats, but some shellfish are high in cholesterol.
Foods of plant origin (vegetables, fruits, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds) contain no cholesterol.
Fat content is not a good measure of cholesterol content. For example, liver and other organ meats are low in fat, but very high in cholesterol.
In general, your risk of developing heart disease or atherosclerosis goes up as your level of blood cholesterol increases.
More than half of the adult population has blood cholesterol levels higher than the desirable range. High cholesterol levels often begin in childhood. Some children may be at higher risk due to a family history of high cholesterol.
To lower high cholesterol levels:
The recommendations for children's diets are similar to those of adults. It is very important that children get enough calories to support their growth and activity level, and that the child achieve and maintain a desirable body weight
The following two sample menus provide examples of an average American diet and a low-fat diet.
AVERAGE AMERICAN DIET
Totals: 2,000 calories, 84 grams fat, 34 grams saturated fat, 425 milligrams cholesterol. The diet is 38% total fat, 15% saturated fat.
LOW-FAT DIET
For the same number of calories, a low-fat diet provides 190 mg of cholesterol, compared to 510 mg of cholesterol for an average American diet. Because fat is high in calories, the low-fat diet actually has more food than the typical American diet. An example follows:
Totals: 2,000 Ccalories, 38 grams fat, 9.5 grams saturated fat, 91 mg cholesterol. The diet is 17% fat, 4% saturated fat.
Note: The low-fat diet example is too low in fat for small children to promote good growth. In addition, it may be difficult for them to eat such a large volume of food. Children should have a diet that is closer to 30% of calories from fat. Lower-fat diets may be appropriate in some children. Ask your doctor what is best for your child.