FOODS THAT RAISE BAD CHOLESTEROL

Sequel to my last post on cholesterol, i have decided to write on the foods that raise your levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL).  With this list you will be able to make informed choices about what foods to eat and foods you should avoid. Let this list be a rough guide to your nutrition when it comes to cholesterol control. It is by no means exhaustive and if you know any foods I have omitted, I would be grateful for the feedback.

Thanks, and do have a wonderful day.

1.       Egg Yolk:

The yolk of egg has the most cholesterol of any food with 1234mg per 100gram serving or 411% of the recommended daily value. A single egg yolk will provide 210mg (70%) of daily value of cholesterol, while a whole egg provides slightly more with 212mg (71%). Thus all the cholesterol in egg is in the yolk. Hence my advice to you is to avoid egg yolk as much as possible.

2.       Liver:

Cholesterol is manufactured by the liver, and eating liver means you are feeding on the head quarters of cholesterol. The liver from most meat will contain 564mg of cholesterol per 100grams or 188% of your daily requirement. So please eat it sparingly.

3.       Butter:

Butter is quite common in the diet if you eat biscuits, bread, pastries etc.  Butter is also very high in cholesterol; 100grams of butter will deliver about 215mg of cholesterol (about 72% of daily requirement) to your system. This is a lot of cholesterol to take in, so it is best to give butter a skip when eating bread as you are most likely ingesting cholesterol already.

4.       Shrimp:

This is a surprising member of our list. You would expect sea food to be clean and heart friendly, but don’t be fooled! 100grams of shrimp will contain about 195mg (65%) of daily requirements. If fact a large shrimp contains about 4% of your daily requirement. So once again eat sparingly.

5.       Fast food:

Where do we begin with fast food? It comes loaded with all sorts of bad fat and bad cholesterol! You have heard this before, now hear it again: Fast food is terrible for your heart! A meal of hamburger and fried chips can add about 450mg of cholesterol to your system! That is off the scale, please stay away.

6.       Fish packed in oil:

This one is a bit of a paradox, oily fish is good for you e.g.  sardines and mackerel , but when they are packed in tins of oil, the benefits are negated and the negative i.e. cholesterol is increased. Oil packed sardines contain about 142mg (about 41% of daily requirements) per 100gram serving. That is 131mg (44% of daily requirements) per can, and 17grams per fish.

7.       Processed meats:

Processed meats like your sausages, smoked ham, bacon etc is high in cholesterol. The amount of cholesterol also depends on the cut of meat used and the amount of fat added during processing. A link of pork sausage can contain as much as 158mg of cholesterol (50% of daily requirements) and is full of fat and oil. You should eat sparingly.

8.       All fried foods:

This covers all fried foods and deep fried foods. These raise cholesterol by virtue of their cooking method. Frying food in oil, butter or fat will increase their cholesterol significantly, and for this reason it is best to avoid it. Roasting is a better option as this removes fat and oil from food as opposed to frying which will only add to it.