Foods to avoid with high cholesterol

High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease. Alarmingly, about half of adults in the UK have total cholesterol levels above the recommended healthy limit of 5mmol/L.

Knowing which are the worst foods for high cholesterol is essential for anyone wanting to lower their cholesterol levels.

What foods cause high cholesterol?

Eating too many foods high in saturated fats can raise your cholesterol levels, particularly LDL cholesterol, also known as ‘bad’ cholesterol.

Too much LDL cholesterol can lead to atherosclerosis – the buildup of cholesterol and fatty material (plaque) in your blood vessels – which can increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Saturated fats are found in animal products such as processed meat and butter, as well as in some tropical oils like coconut and palm oil.

UK guidelines recommend no more than 30g of saturated fat per day for men and 20g for women.

How saturated fat increases high cholesterol

The liver plays a vital role in balancing cholesterol levels in the body. It stores and releases cholesterol into the blood when needed and removes excess cholesterol from the blood.

However, saturated fat can disrupt this balance by increasing the liver’s production of LDL cholesterol and reducing the number of LDL receptors in the liver.

These receptors remove LDL cholesterol from the blood. With fewer receptors, more LDL cholesterol stays in the blood.

Saturated fat can also contribute to inflammation in the body. Inflammation damages blood vessel walls, allowing fatty material to build up.

Cutting back on saturated fats is an easy way to help your liver manage cholesterol levels better, which can lower your overall cholesterol.

How to avoid saturated fats

An easy way to spot foods high in saturated fat is to check the front-of-pack traffic light labelling. Red means the food is high in saturated fat, so it’s best to avoid or eat them sparingly.

Also look for hidden sources of saturated fat in the ingredients list, such as butter, palm or coconut oil. The higher they appear on the list, the more there is in the product. See below for food groups containing high amounts of saturated fat.

Worst foods for high cholesterol

These food groups contain the highest levels of saturated fat and so you should try to eat less of them if you want to lower your cholesterol levels:

1. Red and processed meat: This includes beef, lamb, and pork, as well as processed meats like sausages, bacon, salami, and pâtés. These meats are high in saturated fat, with about 5 to 10g per 100g serving. Just one portion can provide a quarter or more of your daily limit. The recommendation is to eat no more than 70g of red and processed meat each day. That’s about 1½ pork sausages, 5 tbsps of mince, or 2 rashers of bacon.
2. Butter, lard, and ghee: These are about 50 percent saturated fat. One tsp has 5g of saturated fat, which is a large proportion of the daily recommended intake of 20g for women and 30g for men. Instead, use sunflower, olive, and rapeseed oil spreads or oils, which have at least 50 percent less saturated fat.
3. Tropical oils: Oils such as palm and coconut oil are high in saturated fat. Palm oil is about 50 percent saturated fat, and coconut oil a whopping 85 percent. While these oils are fine to use occasionally, for daily cooking choose unsaturated oils like olive or rapeseed oil. Check food labels as palm and coconut oils are common in spreads, biscuits, and cakes, so you might be consuming more of them than you realise.
4. Full-fat dairy products: Whole milk, cheese, and cream are significant sources of saturated fat in most people’s diets, making up about a quarter of our intake. Be mindful of creamy coffees, milkshakes, and smoothies too. By choosing lower-fat versions, you can reduce how much saturated fat you’re having but still get essential nutrients like protein and calcium.
5. Baked goods: Pastries, pies, biscuits, and cakes contain a lot of saturated fat from added butter or palm oil. Meaty or cheesy pie fillings can add even more. Choosing pies with only a top crust, whether sweet or savoury, can cut saturated fat by 40 percent.
6. Chocolate: All chocolate is high in saturated fat from added cocoa butter and milk. While cocoa has antioxidants, the saturated fat outweighs the health benefits of these. Enjoy a couple of squares of chocolate rather than a whole bar and get antioxidants from nuts and berries instead.

Eggs and shellfish: should I worry about dietary cholesterol?

The types of cholesterol found in your body, such as LDL cholesterol, are different from the type found in food (dietary cholesterol).

Many people think that eating foods high in dietary cholesterol, like egg yolks and shellfish, raises blood cholesterol levels. However, research shows that dietary cholesterol has a minimal impact on blood cholesterol levels.

It's far more important to focus on reducing your intake of saturated fats, which are known to increase cholesterol levels in your blood.

Most people can enjoy foods like eggs and shellfish as part of a healthy diet without worrying about their cholesterol levels. However, if you have familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), it's still wise to be cautious.

The takeaway: how diet can help lower cholesterol

Eating fewer cholesterol-raising foods can help you improve your cholesterol levels. But it’s not just about cutting out the bad; it's also about adding in cholesterol-lowering foods.

Swap saturated fats for lean proteins, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats from nuts, oily fish, and healthy oils like olive and rapeseed. Together, these changes can have the biggest impact on your cholesterol.

14 foods to avoid with high cholesterol

• Instead of whole milk, try semi-skimmed milk.

• Instead of cream or ice cream, try natural yogurt.

• Instead of biscuits or chocolate, try fruit.

• Instead of a cup cake, try a fruit bun.

• Instead of crisps, try unsalted nuts, plain popcorn or olives.

• Instead of fried chips, try oven chips or a jacket potato.

• Instead of steak, try fish (salmon, mackerel, trout).

• Instead of 20% mince, try reduced fat (5%) mince.

• Instead of cheese on toast, try baked beans on wholegrain toast.

• Instead of paneer, try tofu.

• Instead of coconut oil, butter or ghee, try vegetable oil.

• Instead of chicken with skin, try skinless chicken.

• Instead of sausages, try eggs.

• Instead of pate, try hummus.

What to read next...