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Unless you’re a vegetarian, most of the foods that you’re eating are probably high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and calories. Unknown to you, you may have already exceeded your daily cholesterol intake if you are not careful with your diet.

Unknown to us, foods that are known to be nutritious may also have its setbacks. Did you know that while dairy products like milk and cheese are good sources of calcium, they also have a lot of cholesterol?

- Dairy Products

Dairy products like milk, cheese, ice cream, and yogurt are foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat, but they are also sources of important nutrients. Fortunately, there are low fat and nonfat dairy products available for people who do not want the extra cholesterol.

There are cheeses that are fat free, low fat, part skim, or reduced fat. Basically, choose cheese that has 3 grams or less of fat per ounce. If you want soft cheeses, try getting the low fat (one percent) or nonfat cottage cheese, farmer cheese, or light ricotta or part skim. Additionally, watch out for cheese that have too much sodium in them.

You can also choose skimmed milk or one percent milk instead of whole or two percent milk. The latter are just as nutritious and rich in calcium as whole milk, but with less fat and cholesterol.

- Eggs

The white in the egg is low in cholesterol. It is the yolk, which contains around 213 milligrams of dietary cholesterol. If you cannot avoid eating egg yolks, then at least limit your intake to two per week. The limit extends to the yolks in baked and processed goods. Before buying or eating these types of food, check their labels and see how much cholesterol it has or if it uses whole eggs.

Since egg whites have no cholesterol in them, you don’t have to stop eating eggs altogether though. You can even use two egg whites to substitute one whole egg.

- Fats and Oils

Fats and oils are, of course, high in cholesterol and calories. But that does not mean that they are completely bad for your health. With substitutes and a limit to the total fats and oil intake, you can continue to enjoy your meals.

Instead of using cooking oil with unsaturated fat, you can choose vegetable oil which is a lot healthier. Choose canola, sunflower, corn, soybean, olive, sesame, peanut, and safflower oils instead. For margarine, go for the soft tub or the liquid kind. Salad dressings and mayonnaise also come in light or nonfat kinds.

Since butter, fatback, lard, and solid shortenings are high in fat and cholesterol, you can also limit your use of these ingredients when cooking.

It does not necessarily mean that we have to drastically change our diet just because most of what we eat are foods high in cholesterol. We can continue to enjoy our meals but we do have to be careful and vigilant of what we take in. The labels on the containers of the food you buy are there for a reason. Check them and see if you are going to be eating too much calories, fat, or cholesterol. You do not have to avoid them, but you can eat them in moderation.

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