Cholesterol is essential for building and maintaining cells, and for producing hormones. Blood cholesterol levels can become too high, however, when people are overweight or eat too much dietary cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the so-called bad cholesterol, while high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is the good cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol are linked to cardiovascular disease. Eating onions, whole grains, green vegetables, legumes, and olive and flaxseed oils can help raise HDL cholesterol, while eating foods high in dietary cholesterol can raise LDL levels. Cholesterol is only found in animal products, and certain animal foods are more heavy in cholesterol than others.
Animal Organs
The worst culprits for high cholesterol are beef, veal, pork and lamb brains, containing between 1,830 and 4,700 mg cholesterol per 200-calorie serving, as listed by NutritionData.com. Other animal organs such as kidneys, lungs and liver, including chicken liver, gizzards and giblets, contain between 400 mg and 1,000 mg per 200 calories. Turkey organs are a bit lower, containing around 300 mg.
Egg Yolks
Egg yolks also are heavy in cholesterol content, although egg whites are not. Whole cooked scrambled eggs rank below most animal organs, at 422 mg per 200 calories, but the calorie count includes some fat or oil to cook the eggs. Two hundred calories involves two or three medium eggs, depending on how much fat you add. NutritionData.com notes that if you eat an order of scrambled eggs at McDonald's, Hardee's or Carl Jr.'s restaurants, you can expect between 500 to 530 mg per 200 calories. One hard-boiled egg contains 70 to 80 calories, with about 180 mg of cholesterol per egg.
Meat and Seafood
Meat and seafood also contain cholesterol, although less than animal organs or eggs per 200-calorie serving. Cooked without oil, shrimp provides about 400 mg of cholesterol, and crayfish and squid around 300 mg. Lobster is lower, with about 150 mg of cholesterol per 200 calories. Various types of fish have between 130 and 200 mg of cholesterol, such as haddock, halibut, orange roughy, perch, pollock and walleye pike. Fish oil is high in cholesterol, as noted by Dietary Fiber Food. Cod liver, sardine and herring oil have 570 mg to 770 mg of cholesterol per 100 g of oil. Fish oil capsules, however, generally only contain 1 g of oil.
Pork and beef typically contain around 100 mg of cholesterol per 200 calories. Meats providing between 100 and 200 mg of cholesterol include chicken, Cornish game hens, duck, lamb, rabbit, turkey, veal and venison.
Dairy Products
Dairy products contain cholesterol, too, but not as much as meat, seafood or egg yolks, as explained by FatFreeKitchen.com. One cup of whole milk contains 33 mg of cholesterol; 2-percent milk, 20 mg; 1-percent milk, 10 mg; and skim milk 4 mg. Plain whole milk yogurt contains 13 mg of cholesterol per 100 g serving, while plain low-fat yogurt contains only 5 mg per 100 g serving. Cheddar and mozzarella cheese provide about 70 mg of cholesterol per 100 g of cheese, which is about 1 cup shredded.
