Heart Attack: Eating This Low Cholesterol Food Can Help Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases

An overall heart-healthy diet that replaces saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats is recommended for keeping artery-clogging LDL cholesterol levels healthier. Such a diet will be naturally low in dietary cholesterol. As per a recent report from the American Heart Association Scientific Advisory, current research does not seem to support a specific numerical limit on cholesterol from the diet.

Most of the body’s cholesterol composition is manufactured in the liver and is used for cell development. Food sources including full-fat dairy products, red and processed meats contain relatively large amounts of cholesterol and contain enormous amounts of saturated fat. Consuming such foods might lead to an accumulation of blood cholesterol. And in turn, excess amounts of blood cholesterol can lead to thick, hard deposits inside the arteries- a common process that underlies cardiovascular conditions including stroke.

Low Cholesterol Food to Eat: One Whole Egg Daily

It is considered reasonable to eat one whole egg every day as a part of a heart-healthy diet for healthy people.

“Eating a nutrient-rich diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy products, lean cuts of meat, poultry, fish or plant-based protein, nuts, and seeds,” MDLinx quoted Jo Ann S. Carson, Ph.D., RDN, LD, member of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee and professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. “Saturated fats—mostly found in animal products such as meat and full-fat dairy, as well as tropical oils—should be replaced with polyunsaturated fats such as corn, canola or soybean oils. Foods high in added sugars and sodium (salt) should be limited.”

The study also endorses heart-healthy dietary patterns including the DASH style diets and Mediterranean-style diet which are inherently low in cholesterol.

The findings revealed that there were dose-dependent associations between dietary cholesterol and an increased level of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol when the range of dietary cholesterol tested was beyond normal. A limitation of the study was that the researchers weren’t able to compare the role of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, HDL (Good) cholesterol and total cholesterol in the blood.

The evidence from previous observational studies has generally indicated a significant association between cholesterol in food and the risk of heart diseases. But the drawback of such observational studies is that they aren’t designed to prove cause and effect but rather identify trends, often based on surveys where the participants give data about their dietary patterns.