How much cholesterol should you have in a day? Know from experts

How much cholesterol can one consume in a day for leading a healthy and disease-free life. Let's find out from experts.

Cholesterol has a bad reputation not without a reason. Bad cholesterol or LDL is one of the top reasons of heart trouble in people due to artery blockage. It is found in foods rich in saturated fats, trans fats and sugar. However, health experts nowadays also recommend adding good cholesterol foods in our diet as it helps undo the damage done by bad cholesterol and is considered heart-healthy. So how much cholesterol - good or bad - one can have in a day to lead a healthy life? We talked to some experts. (Also read: Simple daily habits to keep cholesterol in check)

Cholesterol is a type of lipid or fat found in the blood that helps in performing certain important functions of the body. (Unsplash)

Cholesterol is a type of lipid or fat found in the blood that helps in performing certain important functions of the body. Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called lipoproteins - LDL and HDL. While high levels of bad cholesterol or LDL (low-density lipoprotein) raises your risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity and even death, healthy levels of cholesterol - most of which body makes itself - help in absorbing LDL and carrying it back to liver which in turn flushes it out from the body. Cholesterol is only found in animal products while fruits, vegetables and other plant foods have zero cholesterol.

"When we talk about cholesterol, it is very important to understand lipid profile. Lipids are powerful proteins and they are called lipoprotein. As we understand fat and water cannot be mixed, so whatever fat is left in the arteries and all, they are carried as lipoprotein. When we talk about lipid profile we have HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride. When we are doing lipid profile, we are checking for fats in our blood," says Dr Varsha Gorey, Senior Clinical Dietitian, HOD Dietetics Department Apollo hospitals, Navi Mumbai.

Daily requirement of cholesterol

Dr Gorey says one can have 300 mg of cholesterol through our diet in the day as it is a dietary recommendation to avoid heart diseases.

"Cholesterol in itself is not 'good' or 'bad'. High amount of saturated fat, trans fat, alcohol and refined sugar tends to increase the 'bad cholesterol' or LDL. Cholesterol and saturated fat are two types of fat that we need to keep an eye out for while completely avoiding trans fat. The general limit for saturated fats are 10 to 12% of the calorie you consume per day. For someone who eats 2000 calories that would be 200 to 240 calories," says Pranay Jham, A health and wellness expert, Co-founder ACTIVeat.

For managing cholesterol, one should try to include more and more fruits and vegetables in their daily diet and also good cholesterol sources like ghee. Limiting the daily intake could go a long way in preventing heart diseases.

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