High cholesterol is a serious medical problem, but there are foods to avoid high cholesterol. While some foods can help to lower your cholesterol, there are other foods out there that can make a high cholesterol problem even worse. It is time you learn the 411 on foods you should not be eating if you have high levels of cholesterol in your blood.
Foods that have trans fats and saturated fats in them can cause cholesterol to go higher. Saturated fats are usually found in foods that come from animals. Some foods even contain cholesterol and saturated fats. You should look at food labels to find out more about the content of fat and cholesterol in foods. Here is a look at foods to avoid high cholesterol to make sure you improve health and avoid any negative physical problems.
Foods You Need to Avoid
When you have high levels of cholesterol, you need to avoid eating saturated fats as well as oils. This can include coconut oil, lard, butter, palm oil, and bacon drippings. There are many processed foods that actually contain both coconut and palm oils, and they should be avoided as well. You can replace these foods with soy oil, vegetable oils, olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil, or even soft tub margarine.
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and trans fats need to be avoided as well. This can include foods like shortenings, chips, hard margarines, cookies, and snack crackers. Fats become semi solid or solid within a process that is known as hydrogenation.
Servings of meat, fish, and poultry should be limited. Usually you should have about 3-5 ounces of these meats a day and no more. This can help you to better control your levels of cholesterol.
Foods to avoid high cholesterol include fatty meats. You need to eliminate these meats from your diet to help lower your cholesterol to a healthy level. Fatty meats you should be avoiding include bologna and other processed meats, frankfurters, ribs, corned beef, sausage, ground meat, bacon, steak, and pastrami. Instead of eating these meats that are so high in fat, start adding turkey, pork, fish, lean beef, turkey and meatless dishes to your diet.
High fat milk products should also be limited in your diet. This includes many cheeses, cream, whole milk, whipped topping, and more. Instead go for cheeses that are low fat and look for milk that has less than 1% fat in it.
Fast food should definitely be avoided. Fries, tacos, hamburgers, and fried chicken are high in saturated fat and total fat. If you do have to eat out, go with chicken sandwiches that do not have skin, choose foods that have not been fried, and try for salads with low fat dressings. Fast food can sabotage your cholesterol fast, and if you need to lower cholesterol, these are definitely foods to avoid high cholesterol.