If there is anything a person needs to avoid in their diet, it is excess of cholesterol. Though cholesterol, a fat, is important in our diet, going overboard with anything is bad. For people suffering with hypertension and heart related disorders, excess of cholesterol is a strict no-no. From increasing your body weight to putting you at risk for other cardiac diseases, excess cholesterol can harm you in plenty of other ways too. In order to keep your cholesterol intake under control, make sure you keep these foods and their products at safe distance form your daily diet.
Liver (Mutton & Chicken):
Liver is the storehouse of fat and cholesterol. Liver of animals, too, contains plenty of fat deposits. Make sure you keep your liver intake under check. Though a certain amount of fat is good and necessary for the body, excess of it can take your health downhill. Have mutton and chicken, but keep liver consumption minimal. Also, red meat is included in the category of foods with a considerable high fat content.
Fats and Oils:
Using vegetable oils for deep frying your foods is never a good option. Consider consuming baked or shallow fried foods as opposed to the oiled ones. Oily foods will increase your cholesterol intake considerable leaving you unhealthier than before. This is one of the many reasons why one should keep away from deep-fried stuff.
Egg yolk:
Egg yolk is full of cholesterol and fat. In fact, it is almost completely made up of fat. This is why one must not consume more than two whole eggs a day. You can eat as many egg whites as you like, since egg whites are protein albumin. And protein helps build lean muscle mass. But, as far as egg yolk is considered, ensure that you do not eat more than two a day.
Processed and junk food:
This is, by far, the unhealthiest type of food, full of cholesterol. Deep fried in unhealthy oil coupled with fattening and artificial products, junk food is never a good substitute for healthy food. Though a cheeseburger may seem like a good idea on an occasional basis, thriving upon processed food will bring nothing but harm to your body.
Whole milk and cream:
You can use skimmed or low-fat milk as replacement for whole milk. The latter usually contains more fat and cholesterol than the former. If keeping cholesterol at bay is your aim, you must maintain an arm’s distance from cream, whole milk and, other heavy dairy products. Butter and cheese, too, contain plenty of cholesterol, which can clog your arteries and prove harmful if consumed on a daily basis.
Shrimp:
It is still a topic of debate whether shrimp is harmful or not because of its cholesterol content. Earlier it was believed that shrimp contains cholesterol that brings about adverse effects on the human body. Very recently, it has come to light that shrimp does contain cholesterol but not the kind that disrupts your healthy bodily functions. Even though it is proved so, it is still better to keep away from shrimp and its dishes to avoid any sort of doubts and second thoughts.
Wrapping it up:
The above foods must not be completely excluded from the diet, because what is life without some flavour in it? Having said that, it also extremely important to keep a check on your intake. Consult your dietician and find out what foods you must take in what quantities according to your physical condition. Keep a tab on these quantities and you will be just fine. Going easy on yourself occasionally will do no harm, but take care to not overdo it frequently.