Which High Cholesterol Foods Should I Avoid?

Many people believe that they should automatically avoid high cholesterol foods. However, medical research on this topic suggests that most people do not need to be too concerned with consumption of cholesterol, but need to be especially concerned with consumption of certain types of fats. People who have conditions like heart disease or diabetes are cautioned by the medical community to avoid especially high cholesterol foods, but they also must watch their intake of saturated fats and trans fats. In particular, trans fats are the most damaging and raise bad cholesterol (LDL or low-density lipoproteins) blood levels while lowering good cholesterol (HDL or high-density lipoproteins) levels, and these should be a minimal part of any diet or completely eliminated.

Some people do seem to have a nearly automatic response when they eat high cholesterol foods. These folks are called responders, and they should avoid foods high in dietary cholesterol. For most people though, eating something like an egg a day is not going to greatly affect cholesterol levels, and they should be more mindful of reducing saturated and trans fats in the diet.

A list of high cholesterol foods that some people should avoid include the following:

Other high cholesterol foods include hard and soft cheeses, though an ounce serving of these may only contain about 25-30 grams of cholesterol. 3.5 ounces of ice cream has about 45 mg of cholesterol, and lower fat versions may contain even less. The same amount serving of foods like lamb, beef and chicken provides 60-70 mg of cholesterol.

Most people are asked to keep cholesterol limits to 300 mg a day. It is possible to have small steak and a serving of ice cream without reaching 300 mg. However, two eggs can easily put someone over their cholesterol limit for the day, as can toast or a baked potato heaped with butter.

Those who are responders or who have known heart conditions and diabetes may be asked to limit cholesterol intake to 100 mg a day, and this can cut out some foods. With some careful planning though, people may be able to have some of their favorites. Skipping cholesterol for two days in a row could mean they could have an egg on the third day and stay in these limits. Alternately, many people will have egg whites because the yolk contains most of the egg’s cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that’s used to make cells, vitamins and hormones. Your liver automatically creates all the cholesterol you need for the proper functioning of your body. The rest of the cholesterol in your system comes from the food you eat, specifically foods from animals. Meat, dairy, and poultry products all have cholesterol in them.

Food from animals also contains high saturated and trans fats. This is important to know because these types of fats make your liver produce more cholesterol than your body needs. Trans fats in particular can decrease your good cholesterol (HDL, or high-density lipoproteins) and increase your bad cholesterol (LDL, or low-density lipoproteins). Current guidelines recommend eating no more than 200-300 mg of cholesterol daily.

Too much cholesterol circulating in your blood can lead to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. If you eat a diet heavy on meat, dairy, eggs and poultry, you should have your doctor check your cholesterol levels so you know where you stand.

Too much LDL can lead to a cholesterol buildup in your arteries that supply blood to your heart and brain. It then forms a hard lining of these arteries, which continues to increase in volume, making the arteries narrower and narrower.

If a blood clot got stuck in an artery that was narrowed by this cholesterol buildup, which is called atherosclerosis, you could have a heart attack or a stroke. HDL can remove LDL from your artery walls and carry it back to your liver where it will be processed.

There’s a third component of cholesterol, called triglycerides. Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in your body. They store extra fat from your diet. High triglycerides can also be a factor in heart disease or stroke.

Cholesterol levels will naturally increase with age. As your body needs to create more cells, your liver will produce more cholesterol. However, it’s important that you not let your cholesterol get too high, especially when you are younger. Years of high cholesterol make it harder to treat.

Men tend to have higher cholesterol levels as they age, while women see an increase in cholesterol after menopause. Here is a listing from Medical News Today of healthy cholesterol levels by age and gender, measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl).

Total cholesterol levels between 200 and 239 mg/dl are borderline-high, with high cholesterol being treated at 240 mg/dl and above. LDL levels of 160-189 mg/dl are considered high. HDL levels are low at 40 mg/dl or less. The ideal level of HDL is 60 mg/dl and above.

Shrimp are high in cholesterol. If you eat 12 jumbo shrimp, you’ll be consuming around 130 ml of it — that’s 52% of your average recommended daily allowance of cholesterol. However, shrimp are low-fat, and full of B vitamins, the nutrients selenium, sodium and zinc, and protein. They’re also high in unsaturated omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which can increase your HDL levels.

Other seafood that’s higher in cholesterol but still healthy in many other ways includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, octopus and many fish. For lower levels of cholesterol in your seafood, look to clams, mollusks, scallops and oysters.

Eggs contain about 187 mg of cholesterol, or 75% of your recommended daily allowance. However, they contain a lot of health benefits, including protein, choline to aid in brain development and carotenoids, which can decrease the risk of macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. All that, and they’re only 75 calories each.

If you decide to enjoy an egg or two one morning with breakfast, you may want to lighten up on your cholesterol intake on the day before or the day after to balance things out. That’s what a healthy diet is all about: balance.

Cholesterol can be either harmful or helpful, depending on the type of foods you consume. You want to boost your HDL numbers while reducing the amount of LDL you take in. You’ll find that a healthy diet low in fatty animal products can keep your overall cholesterol right where it belongs.