A Practical Approach to a Low-Cholesterol, Low-Saturated Fat Diet
Foods to Reduce | Foods to Choose |
|---|---|
Meats and meat products | |
Fatty cuts of beef, lamb, and pork Spareribs Organ meats, such as liver Regular cold cuts Sausage Hot dogs | Fish Chicken and turkey (without the skin) Lean cuts of beef, lamb, pork, and veal |
Dairy products and eggs | |
Whole milk Evaporated or condensed whole milk Cream Half-and-half Most nondairy creamers | Nonfat (skim) milk 1% fat milk Buttermilk |
Whipped toppings | Low or nonfat whipped toppings |
Whole-milk yogurt Whole-milk cottage cheese Cheeses (such as blue, Roquefort, Camembert, cheddar, and Swiss) Cream cheese Sour cream Ice cream | Nonfat or low-fat yogurt Low-fat cottage cheese Low-fat cheeses Low or nonfat sour cream Sherbet, sorbet, and frozen low-fat yogurt (limit sugar-containing foods if triglycerides are high) |
Butter and butter-margarine mixtures | Less solid forms of margarines made from liquid vegetable oils (packaged in a tub or squeeze bottle) Margarine products containing a plant sterol or stanol Butter and oil blends |
Egg yolks (to less than 3 a week) | Cholesterol-free egg substitutes Egg whites (2 whole egg whites can be substituted for 1 egg in recipes) |
Commercial baked goods | |
Pies Cakes Doughnuts Croissants Pastries Muffins Biscuits High-fat crackers High-fat cookies Egg noodles Breads made with several eggs | Homemade baked goods made with unsaturated oils Angel food cake Low-fat cookies and crackers (limit sugar-containing foods if triglycerides are high) Whole-grain* (oatmeal, bran, rye, and multigrain) breads and cereals |
Saturated fats and oils | |
Chocolate | Cocoa powder Carob Nonfat chocolate syrup |
Coconut oil Palm oil Lard Bacon | Unsaturated vegetable oils: soybean, corn, canola, olive, sesame, safflower, and sunflower |
Dressings | |
Dressings made with egg yolk | Low-fat mayonnaise and salad dressings made with liquid oils |
Fruits and vegetables | |
Fruits and vegetables prepared in butter, saturated fats, cream, or sauces made with saturated fat | Fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits or vegetables* |
Coconut | Seeds and nuts* |
* Fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and nuts contain no cholesterol, and most contain little or no saturated fat. | |