These foods produce bad cholesterol, avoid them!

• April 27, 2024

Cholesterol is a natural substance that is found in the body and is essential for many of its functions, when it exceeds certain levels, either sedentary lifestyles or a diet high in bad cholesterol foods, has serious consequences.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA) , a diet high in saturated fats, trans and cholesterol, can raise the levels of the latter in the blood, putting you at risk of heart disease.

These are some of those that can raise your bad cholesterol:

1. Ice cream. Dairy products are rich in nutrients, loaded with calcium, proteins, vitamins and minerals, but if your choice is those of "whole fat" you are receiving strong doses of saturated fats.

2. Egg yolks . Thomas Behrenbeck, Mayo Clinic physician, indicates that a large piece contains about 186 mg of cholesterol concentrated in the yolk. The key with this food is the quantity, it controls the intake.

3. Fried foods. Although they are our favorites, hamburgers, chips or pizzas, they are high in trans fats.

4. Butter. This food is known to contain saturated fats in addition to high cholesterol. It contains palmitic acid, an important obstructive of the arteries.

5. Regular cheese. This food can contribute up to 8.5% to the intake of saturated fats. This significantly exceeds the AHA's recommendation to consume no more than 7% of these in daily calories.

6. Sausages. The bacon and ribs provide the body with up to 4.9% of the consumption of saturated fats. So instead of them it is best to choose healthy fats from fish, vegetable oils and even avocado.

Although for most people, the amount of cholesterol eaten has only a modest impact on the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood, for others, the levels go up and down very strongly in relation to what they have eaten, says the HSPH .