How much cholesterol intake should you be consuming in a day?

Question

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Answer 1

Various school of thought are there, regarding daily intatake of cholestrol:
Some recommend not greater than 250 mg/day, others recommend 300 mg/day.
This article on understanding cholestrol will help you out:

Cholesterol is found only in animal foods. Thus, the labelling of other products as "Cholesterol-free" is misleading. The most concentrated sources of cholesterol are found in organ meats and eggs. One egg has about 200 mg. of cholesterol, and daily requirements are about 300 mg. per day. Contrary to popular belief, there is little difference in the cholesterol content of meat, poultry, or fish. A food does not have to be high in saturated fat to be high in cholesterol since cholesterol is stored primarily in lean tissue.

It is not cholesterol alone that causes problems. It is the oxygenation of cholesterol that causes the damage. Oxygenation, or free radical development, is the process that changes the composition of this essential nutrient, turning it into a destructive compound. Oxidation of cholesterol is formed when it is exposed to air. This happens during the many stages of processing meat, milk, eggs, butter, and cheese products. Added to this is the means of processing -- firing, smoking, curing, aging, and packaging all contribute further to the oxygenation of cholesterol-containing foods. Such fast foods as fried chicken, fish, hamburgers; as well as dried and packaged foods, are some of the greatest sources of free radicals.

Answer 2

Amongst those with some sort of knowledge on this subject, even the most ardent proponents of the cholesterol theory grudgingly admit that dietary intake of cholesterol has no bearing at all on so called blood cholesterol levels. your body produces around 70% of your cholesterol, the more you eat, the less your liver produces and the less you eat the more your liver producers.
Many people continue to display total ignorance on this subject by confusing a lipoprotein (hdl, ldl, vldl) with a lipid or with cholesterol. They are not the same, one is never made from or into another. It never ceases to amaze me that people who should know better (Pharamacists etc) don't seem to have a grasp on the basic biochemical facts regarding this subject. If you don't understant the very basics, how can you give advice?
The following are articles written by a knowledgable doctor explaining theses basics in simple terms. If there are any factual innacuracies in it please point them out.

Answer 3

The answer to this is not clear because cholesterol consumed does not necessarily translate into blood level cholesterol.

Answer 4

Dietary cholesterol intake does NOT increase blood cholesterol levels.

Answer 5

There are four major fats in the foods we eat: saturated fats, trans fats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. The four types have different chemical structures and physical properties. The bad fats, saturated and trans fats, tend to be more solid at room temperature (like a stick of butter), while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to be more liquid (like liquid vegetable oil).

Fats can also have different effects on the cholesterol levels in your body. The bad fats, saturated fats and trans fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in your blood. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats don’t seem to raise bad cholesterol levels and are beneficial when consumed in moderation.

A healthy diet balances the number of calories you eat with the number of calories you burn, and emphasizes eating vegetables, fruits, whole-grain/high-fiber foods, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish (at least twice a week), and limiting how much saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol you eat. Also, drink fewer beverages and eat fewer foods with added sugars, and choose and prepare foods with little or no salt.