(LifeWire) - Food labels can be confusing, and when it comes to detecting high cholesterol foods, it may not be so simple.
When it comes to limiting your cholesterol intake, it's not always as easy as reading the nutrition labels. Food labels should always list the cholesterol, in milligrams (mg), per serving. But what about items that don't have nutrition labels, such as meats purchased from the deli?
Understanding Cholesterol
Although cholesterol has gotten a bad rap, it isn't quite the culprit it's made out to be. Your body actually needs cholesterol, and your liver makes about 1,000 mg of the stuff every day.
In addition to cholesterol produced by the body, we also get cholesterol from animal products. For example, dairy products, meat, fish and egg yolks contain cholesterol. Foods derived entirely from plants, such as vegetables, fruits and grains, do not contain cholesterol.
It is recommended that less than 300 mg of cholesterol should be consumed per day. According to the American Heart Association, men typically ingest about 337 mg of cholesterol daily, and women ingest about 217 mg.
Reading Food Labels
Physicians most often recommend cholesterol-restricted diets for patients with significantly elevated cholesterol levels and known heart disease and sometimes for those with a high risk of cardiovascular disease. To follow such a diet, it's important to read the nutrition labels on foods before consuming.
Each food label should include milligrams of cholesterol per serving. Don't forget to look at the serving size as well. Sometimes products can seem low in cholesterol, but if you eat more than the recommended servings at one sitting, then you can end up consuming a lot more cholesterol than you intended.
You may be confused by the percentages included on the label, marked as "% of daily value." The daily value -- or daily reference value -- is the USDA's term for daily nutritional requirements, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. But when counting cholesterol, it's best to overlook these percentages and focus on limiting your daily consumption to 300 mg or less.
Foods Without Labels
When shopping in certain areas of the grocery store many foods do not have labels, such as fruits, vegetables and other plant products, but remember that these foods don't have any cholesterol. For other products, the USDA maintains a searchable nutrient database. This database provides cholesterol contents for many different foods. All you have to do is use a keyword, like "turkey," and scroll down until you find the turkey bacon that you ordered. You must also be careful when you eat out, although many restaurants now offer healthy choices. You may want to ask the restaurant's staff for more information about their menu choices.
What About Fats?
In addition to watching the cholesterol content of your foods, you'll probably want to keep tabs on saturated fat and trans fats.
According to the USDA, saturated fats can raise "bad cholesterol" or the low-density lipoproteins (LDL); this is the artery-clogging stuff that can lead to heart attacks or strokes. Trans fats have also been linked to increased LDL levels. The USDA recommends limiting saturated and trans fats as much as possible.
Unsaturated fats, however, can be good for the body. According to the USDA, most of the fat in your diet should come from unsaturated fats. Seeds, nuts and fish are all good sources of these healthy, unsaturated fats.
Sources:
"Cholesterol." AmericanHeart.org. 2008. American Heart Association. 5 Sep. 2008 <http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4488>.
"How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label." Cfsan.fda.gov. 2004. Food and Drug Administration. 5 Sep. 2008 <http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html>.
"Inside the Pyramid." MyPyramid.gov. 2008. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 5 Sep. 2008 <http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/meat.html>.
