A high level of blood cholesterol is a major cause of heart attacks. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not recommend any dietary amount or dietary reference intake (DRI) amount for cholesterol as it does for other nutrients. It attributes this to the difference in how individuals handle excess amounts. Your liver produces 1,000 mg of cholesterol every day while the average American man gets 337 mg of cholesterol from his diet daily and the average American woman consumes 217 mg daily, according to the American Heart Association.
About Cholesterol
Cholesterol is responsible for bile synthesis and production of some hormones. However, excess cholesterol sticks to the walls of your arteries, narrowing them, and making the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart more difficult. Cholesterol travels in the blood combined with proteins, a complex known as lipoproteins. LDL, or low density lipoproteins or "bad cholesterol," is the main culprit in blocking the arteries. HDL, or high density lipoproteins, is the "good cholesterol" since it carries cholesterol away from the arteries. The National Cholesterol Education Program sets the limit as 200 mg/dl in the blood as normal, and above 240 mg/dl as high. It also advises everyone over 20 years of age to get their cholesterol checked every five years.
Amounts needed
The USDA states that eliminating cholesterol completely from your diet is not only extremely difficult, but may also lead to other nutritional deficiencies. Even though the USDA does not suggest any DRI or tolerable upper intake level for cholesterol, many other government sources such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have calculated amounts according to the condition of your heart.
According to the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet introduced by the NHLBI, you should eat no more than 136 mg of cholesterol daily. The TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) diet, also developed by NHLBI, for people with high cholesterol suggests less than 200 mg of cholesterol per day. The NHLBIs website even calculates the amount of cholesterol you need according to your height, weight, age and current heart condition. Mypyramid.gov and the Heart Healthy Diet (by the American Heart Association) suggest less than 300 mg cholesterol per day for healthy adults. However all these sources suggest less than 10 percent of total calories should be from saturated fats, which also raise your blood cholesterol levels.
It is possible to have a diet considerably low in cholesterol which can be sufficient in other nutrients as well with careful planning. Avoid foods like red meat, beef, pork, whole milk and their products, sausages, fried foods, butter and margarine to bring the level of saturated fats and cholesterol down in your diet. Also avoid high-sodium processed foods and high sugar foods. Consume high-fiber foods like whole wheat products and cereals, fruits and vegetables.
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