Your body produces all the cholesterol it needs to make hormones, digestive substances and vitamin D, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. You get more cholesterol from certain foods you eat. Dietary cholesterol mainly comes from animal products. Limiting your intake of foods that produce cholesterol helps reduce the risk of heart disease.
Function
Excess LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream can clog the arteries, the American Heart Association explains. LDL can form plaques on the inner walls of the arteries that decrease blood flow to the heart. If the plaques burst, arteries can become completely blocked, causing heart attack or stroke. HDL, or "good" cholesterol, removes excess cholesterol from the arteries and brings it to the liver, which treats it as waste. You can raise your levels of HDL cholesterol through regular exercise, reducing unhealthy fats in food and eating a nutritious diet.
Saturated Fats
Saturated fats raise unhealthy LDL cholesterol, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Meat, poultry with skin and whole-milk dairy products, such as milk, cheese and ice cream, contain saturated fats. Plant foods containing saturated fats include palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut and coconut oil. You can lower saturated fat intake by choosing lean meat with all visible fat trimmed off, skinless poultry and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Fish also has saturated fat, but certain types contain less saturated fat than meat and poultry, MayoClinic.com notes. Salmon, mackerel and herring are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may lower the risk of heart disease.
Trans Fats
Trans fats raise LDL cholesterol and lower healthy HDL levels. Commercially baked cookies and snack cakes, hard margarines and fried foods in restaurants contain trans fats, which are used in processing to make the foods last longer. Eliminating trans fats in your diet reduces cholesterol, MayoClinic.com points out. Read food labels for products that have no trans fats.
Cholesterol Foods
Dairy products also have cholesterol, but dietary cholesterol has a modest impact on raising cholesterol levels, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Moderate egg consumption plays a role in a healthy diet. However, reducing cholesterol intake helps lower cholesterol, especially for people with heart disease and diabetes. Along with consuming low-fat and fat-free dairy products, replace high-cholesterol eggs with egg whites and egg substitutes whenever possible.
Raising Good Cholesterol
Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats may raise HDL cholesterol while decreasing LDL, according to a Dutch analysis of 60 trials, published in the May 2003 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." Olive, peanut and canola oils, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and avocados have high amounts of monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats are found in flaxseed, soybean, corn and sunflower oils and fish with omega-3 fatty acids.
