The 6 Worst Foods for Cholesterol
High cholesterol occurs when there is a build up of low-density (or LDL) lipoprotein) in the blood vessels. These lipoproteins can move through the body collecting as plaque and clogging vital arteries. Cholesterol is part of a healthy body but too high levels can increase the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Patients with high cholesterol may be prescribed drugs like Repatha (evolocumab) or specific dietary changes to lower bad cholesterol.
With that in mind, here are six foods to avoid with high cholesterol:
1. Fatty red meats
The marble in meat is essentially fat and it is not great for high cholesterol. Marble may taste nice, but it can cause higher cholesterol because fat is one of the foods that are bad for cholesterol. Lamb, beef, and pork all have this fat in high quantities. Fat on meat is known as a food to avoid with cholesterol problems. Fat is a theme of the foods listed and is all over the foods to avoid list.
2. Lard and shortening
Lard is fat from a pig, and as such is going to send bad cholesterol skyrocketing. Shortening is like that, and not fine even though it is made from vegetable oils. These foods are best left untouched for people with high cholesterol issues. Lard and shortening are both pure fat products and pure fat is not good for cholesterol levels. Lard and shortening should be skipped when lowering high cholesterol.
3. Whole or reduced fat dairy products
The fat in dairy products such as that found in milk can be a big issue for those with high cholesterol problems. Dairy fat is fat even when reduced and as such is unhealthy for excessive cholesterol. Whole and reduced fat dairy products all have this fat so know to avoid fat from dairy when trying to fix high cholesterol.
4. Deep fried or fast foods
Deep fried and fast food are issues for cholesterol. They should be removed from the high cholesterol diet because of a notoriety for causing cholesterol problems for people. Deep fried food and fast foods sit in the fat as they cook, and this makes for a fat filled meal that can cause cholesterol issues in people. So be sure to avoid deep fried and fast foods with high cholesterol.
5. Processed pastries
Processed foods like pastries use fat in the cooking process like deep fried foods. Surprisingly, processed pastries have a lot of fat in them and should not be touched when high cholesterol is a problem. Skip eating this food and try something else for high cholesterol management. With due diligence, it is possible to lower bad cholesterol altogether.
6. Saturated vegetable oils
Saturated vegetable oils are important to avoid for cholesterol management because saturated fat is an important part of what causes high cholesterol. These oils are full of this kind of fat and are going to raise cholesterol. Eating this type of oil is a significant thing to avoid when people have high cholesterol problems. These are the six foods to avoid when dealing with high cholesterol.