These are the worst foods for your cholesterol

It may surprise you to learn that half of all heart attacks happen in people with normal cholesterol. A groundbreaking study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at 10,000 people who had suffered heart attacks and saw elevated blood levels of a protein associated with inflammation – C-reactive protein, or CRP.  They administered an anti-inflammatory drug to some and a placebo to others; the anti-inflammatory group saw 37 per cent less inflammation and 15 per cent fewer cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks) compared with the placebo group.

Remember the days when we all believed eggs were a nutrition no-no? Fortunately, as the above-referenced study might suggest, science has uncovered a lot about cholesterol and heart health since then. More recent research has shown that while certain foods contain cholesterol, many aren’t the main cause of high ‘bad’ cholesterol levels in the blood.

Cholesterol comes in different kinds of protein-containing particles, including high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs). The cholesterol theory of heart disease is that certain particles, such as LDLs and VLDLs, accumulate and clog the arteries with plaque.

After researchers discovered that one form, HDL, may actually be protective to the heart, many cardiovascular clinicians have backed away from using total cholesterol as the marker of heart health. Since then, LDL cholesterol has become the concerning indicator to watch (though some doctors look at all non-HDL cholesterol, including both LDL and VLDL).

Now that researchers know high-cholesterol foods don’t actually raise blood cholesterol that much, they’ve had to look to other culprits, says registered dietitian Marie Spano. Public enemy number one turns out to be sugar: It may be even worse than saturated fat in raising cholesterol and overall heart disease risk, per research in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases.

According to research published in JAMA, a diet high in sugar – and sweetened beverages like soft drink are a major source – drives up bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (another type of blood fat), while depressing levels of good HDL cholesterol. Add these sweet beverages to your list of foods to avoid if you are concerned about high cholesterol.

One of the foods to avoid with high cholesterol is meat. You may not realise, however, that your body needs some cholesterol – it’s put to use building cells and crucial hormones. According to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, lean and unprocessed red meat, when eaten as part of a Mediterranean-style diet, may improve heart health.

“This study is important because it shows that red meat can be part of a heart-healthy eating pattern, like a Mediterranean-style eating pattern,” says Wayne W. Campbell, professor of nutrition science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in a news release. A meta analysis published in Circulation concluded that consumption of processed meats, but not red meats, is associated with higher risk of heart disease. The Purdue study showed that adults who are overweight or moderately obese could benefit from a Mediterranean-style diet with or without red meat as long as the red meats were lean and unprocessed.

Now here are 11 signs you might be headed for a heart attack symptoms.

“Manmade trans fatty acids raise cholesterol and independently contribute to heart disease risks,” says nutritionist Spano. And while many manufacturers have removed – or are in the process of removing – trans fats, they still pop up in a surprising number of products, such as prepackaged baked goods, desserts, even some types of chocolate. Read labels and avoid anything with partially hydrogenated oils listed among the ingredients, Spano says.

The oils used to fry deep-fry food are often high in unhealthy fats, and research in Food Chemistry found that cooking food in these oils at high temperatures induces chemical reactions that increase the formation of trans fats. Deep-fried foods also tend to be unhealthy or fatty to begin with, think fried chicken, fried mozzarella sticks, and doughnuts, making them a double threat.

Find out which leftovers you should never microwave.

When you eat simple carbohydrates that are stripped of fibre your body breaks them down just like sugar, and both inflammation and LDL cholesterol rise as a result. Overeating refined carbs such as white rice, white-flour pasta, and white bread can have the same effect on your body as drinking soft drink, says registered dietitian Amy Shapiro.

While generally lacking in nutrients, fast food can have an especially insidious effect on cholesterol. A 2017 study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood found that people who ate fast food more than once a week have an increase in LDL and total cholesterol compared to levels in people who rarely ate it. Study authors said that over the long term, the elevated LDL and total cholesterol levels could raise the study subjects’ risk of coronary artery disease by 10 per cent. Salt is also abundant in fast food, and it raises blood pressure, another risk factor for heart disease. And if the fast food meal includes a soft drink, that’s a triple whammy of foods to avoid with high cholesterol, as consuming too much sugar can cause obesity, and risk of heart disease increases as weight and waist circumference do.

Salads are healthy, but they make the list of foods to avoid with high cholesterol if you drizzle them in a commercial salad dressing. Most contain a surprising amount of added sugar, says Spano. In fact, when the consumer group Label Insight crunched the numbers, they found that 91 per cent of the more than 4,200 dressings in their database contained added sugars; worse, a single two-tablespoon serving could exceed daily sugar limits. Stick with oil and vinegar or a DIY dressing.

Is milk good for you? While the jury is still out on just how much of an effect foods have on cholesterol levels, it’s especially true of dairy. Some research indicates that things like aged cheddar and yoghurt, even though they’re whole fat, have little to no effect on blood cholesterol, says Spano. In general, it’s fine to consume these foods in moderation. As always, try to get more plant-based and fewer processed foods into your diet on a regular basis – an undisputed winning dietary strategy. Your heart will thank you, Spano says.

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Source: readersdigest.ca