High cholesterol? Avoid these foods

High levels of LDL cholesterol are linked with an increased risk of heart disease. Here are some high cholesterol foods you should avoid to stay heart healthy.

What is LDL Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a soft type of fat found in the bloodstream and in all your body cells. Cholesterol is of three types VLDL, LDL, and HDL.

LDL or Low Density Lipoproteins is also known as Bad Cholesterol. HDL or High Density Lipoprotein is also known as Good Cholesterol. VLDL or very low density Lipoproteins.

Why is LDL Cholesterol known as Bad Cholesterol?

LDL cholesterol is called "bad" cholesterol, as high levels of LDL cholesterol are linked with an increased risk of heart disease.

High LDL cholesterol levels leads to atherosclerosis or fatty plaque buildup and thickening and narrowing of arteries; ruptured plaque/s made cause a heart attack. Normally HDL (good cholesterol) carries extra LDL cholesterol away from the arteries to be reprocessed by the liver.

Saturated fat

Saturated fat is known as bad fat as it clogs your arteries and directly raises total and LDL (bad) Cholesterol levels.

Saturated fat is found in beef, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry; Dairy foods contain saturated fat (cream, cheese, yogurt, milk...). Saturated fat is found in coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil and cocoa butter.

Meats

Organ meats like liver, brains tend to be high in cholesterol and should be avoided or eaten sparingly.

Ground beef, hamburgers, beef steaks, roast beef, beef stew all are high in cholesterol and will increase your LDL. Choose the leanest red meats and trim off any visible fat.

Pork, Bacon, Ham

Choose leans cuts of Pork, Bacon, and Ham and eat sparingly. The leanest cuts of pork are the loin chop and the tenderloin. Choose the leanest lamb cuts from the loin, arm and leg.

Meats contain good amounts of saturated fats that increase LDL Cholesterol levels.

Lard and Butter

Butter is rich in saturated fat which increases LDL cholesterol levels. 

Lard is animal fat. Avoid it if you want to lower your cholesterol.

Dairy products

Whole dairy products like whole milks and whole cheese or regular yogurt contain a high level of saturated fat which increases LDL Cholesterol levels.

Choose the low fat varieties if you want to lower your LDL cholesterol.

Eggs

One large egg contains about 200+ mg of cholesterol and all of which is found in the yolk.

So if you are eating eggs on a given day, it's important to limit other sources of cholesterol for the rest of that day.

You may consider using only the egg whites as they contain no cholesterol.

Cakes, pastries, pies

Cakes, pastries and pies are rich in butter or any other type of fat which has high levels of saturated fats which further helps increase LDL levels.

Trans fats

Commercially prepared fried foods and baked foods contain trans fats and they raise LDL levels and lower HDL levels.

Trans fats also help increase inflammation in the body which further increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes.