There are 2 ways that the body produces cholesterol in the body. There is cholesterol which is naturally created by the liver and there is also dietary cholesterol. This article deals with second of these points – dietary cholesterol.

If you have a good balanced and healthy diet and take regular exercise then you should generally have a healthy level of cholesterol which remains pretty much constant throughout your life. Keeping your cholesterol at a healthy level is important because if your levels of cholesterol become too high, you are at a far greater risk of strokes and heart disease.

Your body’s own production of cholesterol may not be able to be changed or influenced, but the dietary cholesterol that you consume certainly can be.

What is Dietary Cholesterol

Dietary cholesterol is that which is contained within certain foods. Foods such as prawns, eggs and some red meats are much higher in dietary 
cholesterol than other options.

If your overall diet is good, then you most likely won’t have to reduce the amount of these that you eat, however it would still be a good idea to keep control of the amount you eat.

An important point to consider is that dietary cholesterol found in foods has a far less affect on our cholesterol levels than eating too much saturated fat from food. The reason for this is that eating foods that are high in saturates can raise cholesterol levels in our blood.

No matter what advice you choose to follow, you should always, ALWAYS reduce your intake of saturated fat. Steer clear of heavily processed foods, cakes, pies, biscuits and other fatty foods. Instead eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and freshly prepared meals.

Here is our list of the top 10 worst foods which raise cholesterol levels…

Butter, lard, cream, hard cheese, red meat, processed meats, suet, ghee (found in most curries), fatty meats, cakes and biscuits, these foods contain very large amounts of saturated fats which is converted to cholesterol by the liver.

One good thing is that you can eat certain types of fats that will actually help you to reduce your cholesterol levels. These fats are high in mono and poly unsaturated fats and good examples of these are…

Oily fish such as Mackerel and Salmon, raw nuts such as Almonds and Walnuts, raw seeds such as pumpkin or sesame and nut or vegetable oils such as rapeseed, olive or walnut oils.

The last point that should be mentioned here is that regarding trans fats. These are commonly found in processed foods, cakes, pies, ready meals some margarines and processed meats.

In summary, you may not be eating too many of the foods which contain dietary cholesterol in themselves, but if are eating a diet which is high in saturated fats you will be increasing the likelihood of having high cholesterol levels.