What Foods Should You Avoid If You Have High Cholesterol
While a small amount of cholesterol in your diet is acceptable, a large amount of saturated fat is not. High-saturated-fat diets have been related to higher blood cholesterol and a higher risk of heart disease.
Limit or avoid the following unhealthy high-cholesterol foods that are also rich in saturated fat, according to experts:
How Is Cholesterol Measured
Most people with high cholesterol feel perfectly well and often have no symptoms. The best way to find out if your cholesterol is high is to have a blood test .
Visit your GP to determine whether you need to lower your cholesterol level and what action to take.
GPs can also do a heart health check, that calculates your heart disease and stroke risk.
Baked Goods And Sweets
Cookies, cakes and doughnuts usually contain butter or shortening, making them high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
They also tend to be full of sugar, which can lead to high levels of blood triglycerides, an unhealthy blood fat that can be a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Instead, make your desserts at home, choosing recipes that dont need shortening or lots of butter. This also allows you to modify recipes and cut down the amount of sugar used, to half or three-quarters the recommended amount. You can also enjoy baked fruit as a dessert, or substitute applesauce for eggs or butter in your baking.
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How Many Servings Of Seafood Can You Have In A Day
The American Heart Association recommends having two servings of fish per week. One serving is three ounces of cooked fish or about three-fourth cup of flaked fish.
The AHA recommends preferring fatty fish, such as salmon, anchovies, herring, sardines, black cod, mackerel, whitefish, bluefin tuna, and striped bass because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are good for your heart, brain, and overall health.
According to the dietary guidelines for Americans, adults consuming about 2000 calories a day should have at least eight ounces of fish per week. Pregnant and breastfeeding women can consume two to three servings of low-mercury seafood per week.
Children must particularly be given fish that have lower amounts of mercury.
Table 2. Dietary requirements for seafood in children according to age
| Childs age |
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Red And White Meats Are Equally Bad For Cholesterol Study Finds
The key takeaway from the study, nutritionists say, is to watch out for saturated fat, no matter the protein source. And when it comes to poultry versus red meat, “it’s easier to get higher amounts of saturated fat from some cuts of red meat,” said Elizabeth Kitchin, assistant professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who wasn’t involved with the research.
Still, it was unexpected that poultry had the effect on cholesterol levels that it did.
“I was surprised that the effect of white meat on cholesterol levels was identical to the effects of red meat,” said Dr. Ronald Krauss, study author and director of atherosclerosis research at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute.
In the study, 113 adults were randomly assigned to one of three diets for one month: rich in lean cuts of beef, lean cuts of chicken or turkey, or plant proteins. After each month, the participants’ diet was changed, so that each participant ended up trying all three diets. However, half of the participants’ diets, regardless of protein source, were high in saturated fat the other half ate a low-saturated fat diet.
After each month, the researchers measured the participants’ levels of LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol.
“Keeping all else constant even the level of animal fat the levels were higher on both sources of meat compared to the nonmeat diet,” Krauss told NBC News.
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Lamb High In Cholesterol But Not As High As Beef
While it doesnt contain as much saturated fat as some other red meats such as beef, lamb does have a high cholesterol content.
For every 3-ounce serving of lamb you eat youre taking in about 75 milligrams of cholesterol.
Thats about a third of the ideal daily cholesterol intake recommended by many doctors .
In other words, a bit of lamb here and there is okay, but you need to be careful to balance it with the rest of the food youre eating throughout the day.
As long as the rest of your meals are low in cholesterol then you can get away with eating lamb and other red meats in moderation.
How Much Cholesterol Is In Steak
Related Articles
Steak and other animal foods contain cholesterol, which is a rubbery fatty substance. You need some cholesterol in your body, but everything you need is produced in the liver. Any cholesterol you get from your diet may lead to excessive cholesterol levels in your body. Eating steak everyday and getting too much cholesterol in your diet can lead to health problems in the future.
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How Much Cholesterol Is In Ground Beef And Ground Turkey
Ground beef and ground turkey are both rich sources of protein, but that’s not the only nutrient the two meats provide. A less beneficial nutrient contained in ground beef, ground turkey and other foods is cholesterol. Having high levels of cholesterol in your blood can increase your risk of heart disease, so you should limit your daily intake for optimal health.
Nutrition Comparison Of Cooked Beef And Cooked Pork
Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition? We compared the nutritional contents of cookedbeef versus cookedpork below using 2020 USDA and NIH data.
- Jump to:
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in beef and pork:
- Both pork and beef are high in calories, potassium, protein and saturated fat.
- Beef is a great source of iron.
- Pork has more thiamin, however, beef contains more Vitamin B12.
visualize the nutritional comparison
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What You Should Worry About
Should you actually worry about cholesterol in food? The greater danger for everyone is in foods that are high in trans fats.
Those often appear on food labels as hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, he says. Those types of fats do tend to raise cholesterol and do tend to increase the risk of heart disease.
All in all, look for trans fat and saturated fat on labels at the grocery store. The American Heart Association recommends limiting dietary saturated fat intake and focusing more on eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean animal protein or plant protein sources.
Monitor Your Cholesterol With Other Dairy Alternatives
Instead of whole milk, try non-dairy alternatives. “Alternatively, you can switch to a plant-based milk like soy milk or almond milk which contains no saturated fat or cholesterol,” William W. Li, MD, a physician, scientist, and author of Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself tells Health Digest. In addition, Everyday Health says that 25 grams of soy protein can also reduce the risk of heart disease. Almond milk also contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, which lower LDL levels.
Everyday Health also says that hemp milk derived from the seeds of the cannabis plant but does not have the psychoactive ingredient THC has no cholesterol and low saturated fat. There are also beneficial nutrients for heart health, including omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and magnesium, which help maintain a regular heartbeat rhythm.
Everyday Health recommends drinking goat milk if you want a similar flavor profile to whole milk or are lactose intolerant. Although, one cup of goat’s milk is high in calories with 6.5 grams of saturated fat and 27 milligrams of cholesterol.
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Shrimp: Another Ambiguous High Cholesterol Food
Like eggs, shrimp is one of those controversial high cholesterol foods many doctors advise patients to stay away from it, but there have been studies now which indicate its not actually bad for you despite the high cholesterol content.
Shrimp is often thought of as being relatively healthy compared to many meat options because of its low fat content.
But despite being relatively low in fat, shrimp is certainly high in cholesterol. Studies have indicated that shrimp is not a hazard for high cholesterol patients because while it raises bad cholesterol, it simultaneously raises good cholesterol so the effects cancel each other out.
That said, having a high level of cholesterol overall is not recommended. If youre a shrimp fan youre best to discuss with your doctor whether its okay for you to continue eating shrimp otherwise youre best to just avoid it.
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Alcohol Intake And High Cholesterol
It’s well known that drinking even a small amount of alcohol can raise your blood triglyceride levels. But the effects of alcohol on cholesterol are less clear.
Moderate drinking means one drink a day for women of all ages and men older than 65. Men younger than 65 should have no more than two drinks a day.
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What The Study Found
Led by researchers at Childrens Hospital Oakland Research Institute , the study looked at about 100 healthy men and women aged 21 to 65 over a four-year timespan. Participants were assigned to four-week cycles of eating either a high-saturated or low-saturated fat diet, with different tests of red meat, white meat, and plant-based protein sources like beans and legumes.
Expecting a surge mainly in the red-meat group, they were surprised to find that effects on cholesterol were identical in the white-meat group, according to study senior author Ronald Krauss, M.D., director of atherosclerosis research at CHORI.
On average, LDL cholesterolthe bad kindwere about 5 to 6 percent higher on each of the meat diets compared to the non-meat diet.
This could translate to a several percent higher heart disease risk, he told Runners World. However, there was a wide range of variation in response, so the clinical effect could be greater for some. In general, the takeaway here is that if you want to control blood cholesterol levels, diets with a high proportion of plant protein are to be preferred to those with high amounts of either red meat or white meat.
- By Katherine D. McManus, MS, RD, LDN, Contributor
But lets examine the study more closely before drawing any conclusions.
People Have A Right To Love Avocados
Avocado toast, anyone? There’s a reason why everyone’s obsessed with the overpriced fad. “Avocados contain healthy monounsaturated fatty acids which are beneficial fats that are heart-healthy, and they are packed with micronutrients that can activate your body’s health defenses against chronic disease,” William W. Li, MD, a physician, scientist, and author of Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself tells Health Digest.
Avocados by themselves have no cholesterol, reports Healthline, but are capable of reducing bad cholesterol. A small 2015 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association reported that people who followed a 5-week avocado diet where they ate avocados daily showed lower LDL cholesterol. Similarly, a 2019 study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that people who are overweight or obese who ate an avocado once a day significantly reduced their elevated LDL levels.
The Mayo Clinic recommends adding avocados to food such as avocado slices on a sandwich, eating them as a side dish, or eating guacamole with raw cut vegetables.
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How To Eat More Poultry Fish And Beans
- Breakfast
- Add them to breakfast tacos, scrambled eggs or a vegetable omelet.
- Replace bacon and sausage with low-sodium, nitrate-free turkey or veggie bacon.
Many people choose not to eat meat for various reasons, including health. You can get all the nutrients your body needs without eating meat. For people who dont want to eat meat , there are many healthy ways to get enough protein. A one-cup serving of cooked beans, peas, lentils or tofu can replace a 2-ounce serving of meat, poultry or fish. Two ounces of peanut butter counts as 1 ounce of meat.
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Which Foods Are High In Cholesterol
All animal foods contain some cholesterol. But by cutting down on the animal foods that contain saturated fats you will be keeping the cholesterol in your diet in check too.
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Foods that contain cholesterol and are high in saturated fat. |
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Full fat dairy foods such as milk, cheese, yogurt and cream. |
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Animal fats, such as butter, ghee, margarines and spreads made from animal fats, lard, suet and dripping. |
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Fatty meat and processed meat products such as sausages. |
There are some foods which are low in saturated fat but high in cholesterol. These include eggs, some shellfish, liver, liver pate and offal. Most people dont need to cut down on the cholesterol thats found in these foods.
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Foods that contain cholesterol but are low in saturated fat. |
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Lean meat, especially offal, such as liver, kidney, sweetbreads, heart and tripe |
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Prawns, crab, lobster, squid, octopus and cuttlefish. |
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Eggs . |
For people with FH, or who have high cholesterol, or are at high risk of or have cardiovascular disease, you can still eat some of these foods, but you need to be more careful about how often you eat them to ensure youre keeping within the guidelines. For example, you could eat three or four eggs a week, and shellfish such as prawns up to once or twice a week.
You should avoid liver and offal altogether because they are very rich sources of cholesterol.
The table below shows the amount of cholesterol in these types of foods:-
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Food |
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So Which Cuts Of Meat Should You Buy
The study authors noted that in real-world situations, people might not know the leanest cuts of meat or the healthiest ways to cook them.
According to the American Heart Association , the leanest beef cuts include the round, chuck, sirloin, or loin. When it comes to pork, go for the tenderloin or loin chop. For lamb, choose cuts from the leg, arm, and loin. According to USDA guidelines, a 3.5 ounce serving counts as lean if it has 4.5 or fewer grams of saturated fat. The leanest cut, an eye round roast or steak, has only 1.4 grams of saturated fat per serving.
Buy choice or select grades rather than prime, which is also higher in fat, and make your meat extra-lean by cutting off any excess fat before you prepare it. Broil, braise, and grill instead of pan-frying.
Moderation is key. The AHA recommends no more than six ounces a day of cooked lean meat, poultry, fish, or seafood a day for people who consume 2,000 calories daily.
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How Cholesterol Is Formed In The Body
Cholesterol is a waxy, white material that is insoluble. It is transported throughout the body by two major blood transport systems:
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol transports the majority of cholesterol to cells. Itâs known as âbadâ cholesterol because large levels of it in the bloodstream can clog your arteries.
LDL causes plaque to build up on the walls of your arteries, according to the American Heart Association Trusted Source. When plaque grows up, it can lead to two separate but equally serious problems.
For starters, it can constrict your blood vessels, making it difficult for oxygen-rich blood to travel throughout your body.
Second, it can cause blood clots to form, which can break free and obstruct blood flow, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.
When it comes to cholesterol, you want to maintain your LDL levels low â preferably under 100 milligrams per deciliter .
HDL cholesterol is known as the âgoodâ cholesterol because it aids in the removal of excess cholesterol from cells, especially those in the arteries.
It returns the bad cholesterol to your liver, where it is broken down and excreted.
High HDL levels have also been linked to a reduced risk of stroke and heart attack, whilst low HDL levels have been linked to an increased risk of stroke and heart attack.
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Hereditary Factors And High Cholesterol
In these instances, it may take more than lifestyle changes to keep your cholesterol numbers in check. If you know you are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol or already have high cholesterol despite making heart-healthy lifestyle changes, your doctor may recommend cholesterol-lowering medication.
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Coffee Can Increase Cholesterol Levels
America runs on coffee whether it’s Dunkin Donuts coffee or not. A survey by Reuters reported that 64% of Americans drink coffee every day. There are many benefits to coffee, and Deborah Murray, MS, a professor at Ohio University’s College of Health Sciences and Professions, tells Health Digest that the polyphenols found in coffee are protective against heart disease and cancer. However, a 2018 studyin the journal Heart also found higher LDL levels in daily coffee drinkers.
“There are certain types of coffee where the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels may be a little higher like French press coffee, Turkish coffee and espresso,” Dennis Bruemmer, MD, Ph.D., a cardiologist, told the Cleveland Clinic. In addition, the Cleveland Clinic says that the sugar in coffee drinks like frappuccinos also raises cholesterol levels. “Now we’re not talking coffee anymore. We’re talking about cream and caramel, things high in sugar. They’re consumed as a full meal and have 50 grams or more of sugar. Once you consider the cream and even the size you’re talking about 600 calories, over a quarter of your daily calories right there. It’s completely out of proportion to what moderation would be considered.”
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