Foods high in cholesterol are animal-based products, such as meat, eggs, and whole milk. Simply avoiding these foods, however, is not enough to lower cholesterol. You should also avoid foods high in saturated fat and trans fat. While not necessarily foods high in cholesterol, some plant-based foods (such as coconuts and palm oil) are high in saturated fat, which can elevate cholesterol levels as well.
Foods High in Cholesterol: An Overview
Understanding where foods high in
cholesterol come from is an important step in limiting the
high cholesterol foods you eat. It's important to remember, however, that there are a number of other foods that may not be considered "foods high in cholesterol" but that still raise your
LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) more than high cholesterol foods do.
Examples of Foods High in Cholesterol
Cholesterol comes from animals. If a food does not come from an animal (such as vegetables or fruit), then it does not contain cholesterol. The highest of high cholesterol foods are eggs and liver. An egg yolk has 213 mg of cholesterol.
Some other examples of foods high in cholesterol include:
- Whole-milk dairy products
- Butter
- Cream
- Ice cream
- Cream cheese
- Certain shellfish, such as shrimp
- Organ meats, such as kidney and brain
- Duck and goose (which have more cholesterol than chicken or turkey; the skin on these animals is high in cholesterol).
Foods High in Fat and Their Impact on Blood Cholesterol
Eating foods high in cholesterol is just one part of the high cholesterol equation.
Actually, for most people, the main cause of high blood cholesterol is eating too much of certain types of fat. Saturated fat and trans fatty acid (also known as trans fat) are both types of fat that raise your
cholesterol levels.
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