Your dietary cholesterol intake should be less than 300 mg per day. You can monitor your intake by reading food labels and using the Food Database.

If you have high cholesterol levels you should use the Food and Exercise Diary to monitor your dietary cholesterol and saturated fat intake.

Dietary cholesterol is found primarily in animal-based foods such as eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry, fish. Other than palm and coconut oils, plant foods generally do not contain cholesterol. There are a few easy ways to reduce your dietary cholesterol intake. For example:

• Eat egg whites and egg-white omelets instead of whole eggs
• Eat lean meats instead of fatty meats
• Remote the skin from poultry
• Eat low-fat dairy products instead of whole-fat

Although some unalterable factors, such as age, gender and genes, can make your blood cholesterol high, diet and exercise – which you can control – also make a real difference to your cholesterol levels. For example, you can:

• Keep dietary cholesterol intake at 300 mg or less per day. This helps to keep blood cholesterol levels healthy. However, if you have high LDL cholesterol, you should keep your intake even lower than the recommended 300mg
  
  
• Reduce your intake of saturated and trans fats. These fats stimulate the production of LDL cholesterol in your body, raising blood cholesterol levels. You can also track these in your Food and Exercise Diary
  
  
• Increase exercise. As little as 30 minutes of exercise a few times a week will help to reduce LDL cholesterol levels and increase HDL cholesterol levels
  
  
• Quit smoking. Smoking raises LDL cholesterol levels and puts you at greater risk for heart disease
  
  
• Eat more fiber. Fiber helps to clean out the body’s digestive system, and in doing so it pushes LDL (bad) cholesterol through the bloodstream and eventually out of the body
  
  
• Eat more soy. Soy protein in place of animal protein can significantly decrease high blood cholesterol levels, as well as “bad” LDL cholesterol and blood triglycerides, while at the same time maintaining “good” HDL cholesterol
  
  
• Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are full of healthy carbohydrates that can help to lower your LDL cholesterol levels
  
  
• Drink less coffee. If you drink six cups or more a day of unfiltered coffee, it may increase your cholesterol levels. (Filtered coffee does not have this effect)
• With medication. Occasionally, medication is required when cholesterol reaches extremely high levels. However, lifestyle changes are still equally important even when taking medication. Make sure you talk to your doctor about the risks involved with taking cholesterol reducing medications, particularly if you plan to become pregnant.

Cholesterol is found only in foods of animal origin. Plant foods contain no cholesterol.

	Cholesterol (mg)
Milk/Yogurt: Whole, 8.5 fl oz. Lowfat (1%), 8.5 fl oz Soy Drinks	30 10 0
Cheese: Cheddar, 1 oz, 2 slices Fat-reduced, ¾ oz	30 20
Ice Cream: Regular, 1.7 oz Lowfat, 1 scoop, 1.7 oz	20 5
Eggs (chicken), 1 large, 2 oz 1 medium, 1.5 oz	210 180
Fats: Butter, 1 Tbsp Cream, 1 Tbsp Vegetable margarine and oils	45 20 0
Meat: Average all types, cooked, 3.5 oz Chicken breast, roasted, 3.5 oz	90 100
Fish: fresh or canned, 3.5 oz Crayfish/Lobster Prawns, 6 large, 2.3 oz	75 150 70
Offal: Brains, 1 set, 2.8 oz Liver, Kidneys, 3.5oz	1500 500
Fruit, Vegetables, Avocado, Nuts, Seeds, Grains	0