Thank you very much for your kind and informative reply and it was quite fast too. Now encouraged by this, I have a couple of more questions. I have to watch my cholesterol and it goes up if I don’t pay attention. My dad died of a heart attack when he was 52 years old. I’m now 61. I’m very fond of peanut butter sandwiches. If taken two sandwiches in a week, would that affect my count?
Sometimes my wife makes rice pudding with 1% low-fat milk and sometimes custard, say thrice a week, would that affect my cholesterol? Thanks again for your kind reply.
I recommend the real type peanut butter found in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. All they have is peanuts and salt, but read the label to make sure that the peanut butter you buy doesn’t have added hydrogenated fats which can add trans or saturated fats to healthy peanut butter. Peanuts contain mono-unsaturated fats, which in addition to olive oil are considered the best fats to eat.
The question is how does the peanut butter sandwich affect your calorie intake which is reflected in your weight? If your weight is in a healthy range, no problem with the peanut butter sandwich. If you are overweight, then you should take a look at all the foods you eat.
Rice pudding made with 1% milk is OK, but evaporated skim would be better. When you say custard, I assume that eggs are added to the milk and sugar to make the custard. Whether you use eggs or egg substitutes depends on your cholesterol. If your blood cholesterol is below 200, then the pudding and custard are OK. If your cholesterol is above 200, then I would change both the rice pudding and custard recipes to an egg substitute.
Again, how does your eating rice pudding affect your calorie intake and body weight? The answer is the same as the peanut butter sandwich above. Just remember that anything eaten to excess can be “fattening” even if it is a healthy food.
Actually, now that you are older than 60 and a male, your risk of a heart attack is lower. Generally, cholesterol levels are less important for persons 60 and older. You should still follow a healthy eating plan of sufficient calories to maintain a healthy weight and limit fat to less than 30% of calories.
Have you tried the Healthy Body Calculator to find out how many calories, grams of fat and cholesterol you should eat? You can also choose to lose 1 or 2 pounds per week to get to a healthy weight and adjust the percent fat. Don’t forget to exercise.
