Foods High in Cholesterol
Most people think that eating foods that have high cholesterol content means that their cholesterol levels would immediately shoot up. However, recent studies have shown that majority of us don't need to be worried about how much cholesterol we consume but need to be vigilant about certain fats that we ingest. Those with diabetes or heart ailments are not only advised to avoid foods with high cholesterol content but are also cautioned to be careful with the amount of trans fat and saturated fats they intake.
Saturated fats are the ones that are usually responsible for raising your LDL cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol. A healthy diet usually contains about 7 to 10 percent of saturated fat intake. For those who have high levels of cholesterol, an intake of less than 7 percent is advised. These types of fats are usually found in veal, beef, egg yolks, processed meat, butter, whole milk dairy products, poultry, baked goods, palm oil, coconut and coconut oil, and palm kernel oil.
Trans fats are made when vegetable oil in liquid form is heated while hydrogen is present. This process is called hydrogenation. When the oil becomes hard at room temperature, it would contain a large quantity of trans fat. This type of fats has the worst effect on our cholesterol levels. They elevate our low-density lipoprotein or LDL ("bad cholesterol") levels while reducing our HDL or high- density lipoprotein ("good" cholesterol) levels. Trans fats are found in margarines, processed foods, commercially baked foods, snack foods, and fried foods. These fats should be reduced in our diet or better yet, completely removed.
Cholesterol usually comes from animals. Foods such as beef liver, sponge cake made of egg yolks, beef kidney, eggs, butter, hard and soft cheese, veal, chicken, lamb, duck, caviar, goose, crab, pork, prawn, lobster, scallops, margarine, and oysters contain large amounts of cholesterol. Eggs and liver have the highest cholesterol content among the group. Dietitians advise that your intake of these foods be lessened as much as possible to avoid elevating your cholesterol level.
People are advised that cholesterol intake should be only around 300 mg daily. Some people skip eating foods rich in cholesterol for two days straight so that they'd be able to eat an egg, for example, on the third day but still stay within their cholesterol limit. It depends on how you plan your diet and with your nutritionist's guidance your cholesterol would surely be controlled.
Knowledge is indeed power and having enough information about where foods with high cholesterol content are from could be beneficial in controlling your cholesterol.