8 Foods that raise cholesterol and you did not expect it

Dismantling myths

What we eat is essential to keep cholesterol in check. But there are still some false beliefs that can end up damaging health. And it is that in the black list of foods that raise cholesterol there are some that are left over (such as eggs, for example) and, on the other hand, others that should be. Yeah yeah, those popcorn is one of them. Take note…

Popcorn

If they are homemade and made with olive oil, they can even be an ally for cholesterol because they contain fiber and unsaturated fats.

Where is the danger? If it is industrial popcorn or to make in the microwave, things change completely, since these are usually dipped in butter or low-quality oils, which means a considerable contribution of saturated fat (one of the main enemies cholesterol) and also cholesterol.

Maria cookie

She is often presented as the healthy sister of cookies. But it is far from true. Cookies as a whole, as recognized by the Ministry of Health in the Nutritional Survey of Spanish Dietary Intake, are considered "pastries" just like cakes, buns, donuts or churros.

Take note. Maria cookies are not far from a croissant or a saloon. It has 10% saturated fat, the same amount as a croissant and only 1% less than a saloon; and on the other hand, its sugar content is much higher.

Potato chips

Being a product of plant origin, they do not contain cholesterol as such. What they do contain and in large quantities is fat.

Eye to the data. According to a study by the OCU, a third of them is fat. What's worse, like most bad ultra-processed foods, it's often poor-quality trans fats and vegetable oils that are the worst enemy to maintaining a healthy cholesterol level.

Margarita pizza

If you think that opting for a margarita pizza instead of a salami or barbecue pizza will help you keep your cholesterol in check, you are wrong. The margarita pizza still has cheese that provides saturated fat.

Trans fat. Even removing the cheese, in most cases, if the pizza is frozen or made with a ready-made base, it will have low-quality trans fats or vegetable fats, which you should avoid.

Muffins

For its preparation, butter, milk and eggs are used. The result, cholesterol and saturated fat in large quantities.

What if it is vegan? Nor is it any guarantee. Although it does not provide cholesterol, if it is an industrial muffin it will have saturated fats that are worse when it comes to keeping cholesterol at a healthy level.

The Ice creams

If it is a creamy ice cream, its content of saturated fat is very high. A single cup can provide you with almost 16 g of saturated fat, that is, practically the amount you should take in a whole day.

Alternatives. If you are determined to eat an ice cream, it better be one of water, a slushie or a sorbet. In our easy and delicious homemade ice creams, you have several recipes for popsicles and one for sorbet so you can make them yourself.

Cuttlefish

You may be aware that seafood is very high in cholesterol and that when it comes to indulging yourself, instead of prawns, prawns or scampi, you opt for cuttlefish believing that it is much healthier. Unfortunately it is not. All of them have a similar amount of cholesterol, about 200 mg for every 100 g of food. And if you are also one of those who take cuttlefish with mayonnaise, things get even worse.

More precautions. Remember that in the case of crustaceans, most of the cholesterol they contribute is found in the heads; so better, forget about sucking them.

Pig brains

It is one of those foods that grandmothers recommended to make you strong. But if you have high cholesterol and you need to control the amount you eat through your diet, forget about them completely.

High concentration. With only 10 g of brains you will be obtaining as much cholesterol as with a small egg.

Foods that lower cholesterol

The good news is that there are many foods, such as Iberian ham, for example, that do the opposite. They are foods that help lower cholesterol. And also, as we tell you below under these lines, the great enemy of cholesterol is not so much the foods you have seen as saturated and trans fats.

It is proven that diet is key to controlling cholesterol. But, as we told you at the beginning, there are still some myths that can be harmful to health. And it is that many times foods that are not considered harmful and others that are much more dangerous are forgotten. Most importantly, the amount of cholesterol in food is not what makes it rise the most, but another factor that often goes unnoticed …

The crux of the issue about cholesterol

The egg, for example, is often considered the great enemy. However, not only are there other foods that provide as much or more cholesterol but also the most recent studies suggest that you can eat up to one egg a day without increasing cardiovascular risk. Find out how many eggs you can eat on a diet.

On the other hand, you don't just have to look at the amount of cholesterol in a certain food. As Dr. Petra Sanz, from the Council of Experts of the Spanish Heart Foundation points out, dietary cholesterol is generally not the cause of our high cholesterol, because only 15-20% is absorbed by the intestine, although obviously it can influence if we take it excessively.

Actually, the main cause of high cholesterol are saturated fats and trans fats (very present in processed and ultra-processed foods that the realfooding movement championed by our collaborator Carlos Ríos recommends avoiding at all costs). Sardines, for example, have cholesterol, but they help lower it; On the other hand, potato chips do not have cholesterol, but they do have saturated fats so they can increase blood cholesterol.