High cholesterol is not a problem you can sweep under the rug. It is a killer that sets you up for heart disease. Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you have high cholesterol levels, you are not alone. According to the CDC, 1 in every 6 adults in the U.S. has high cholesterol. If you are included in this 16.3 percent of the population, there are some foods to avoid may help lower your cholesterol.
High-Cholesterol Foods
It seems obvious that foods high in cholesterol would be bad for your cholesterol levels. What is not as easy to understand is what foods are high in cholesterol. If you are not actively looking at the labels during your shopping trips, you will inevitably end up bringing home food that should have stayed at the store. Pick up items with little to no cholesterol and, according to the Food and Drug Administration, you should stay away from whole eggs and egg yolks. They are loaded with cholesterol.
Fried Foods
Fried foods taste good, but they have a large drawback, as they often have large amounts of trans fats. MayoClinic.com states that trans fats are the worst fat you can consume. They lower your good HDL cholesterol and raise your bad LDL cholesterol. This creates a combination that raises your risk of heart disease and the University of Maryland Medical Center says this can lead to heart attacks or stroke.
Fatty Foods
Just because a food is low in trans fats, it does not mean they are good for your cholesterol. You still have to watch out for foods that are high in other fats. Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center points out that some lunch meats are high in saturated fats and can have a negative effect on your cholesterol. It also suggests you avoid meats from animal organs, including kidneys, heart, brain and liver. Organ meats are considered fatty and will not be good for your high cholesterol.
Processed Foods
Try to stick with fresh foods if you can. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, processed foods contain higher amounts of trans fats. It may be difficult to eat unprocessed foods all of the time, so if you have to buy processed foods, check the fat content and choose items that carry the lowest fat content.
