Top 10 Healthy Foods High In Cholesterol

Healthy foods

Are foods high in cholesterol healthy?

Foods high in cholesterol have been described as major risk factors for heart disease.

You may be familiar with this information. But what does recent evidence say?

For many years, people avoided the consumption of healthy foods high in cholesterol such as eggs, cheese, full-fat yogurt, sardines and many more, for fear of these foods increasing their risk of heart disease.

However, the latest evidence has shown that high-cholesterol foods that are healthy do not cause heart disease (1).

These healthy foods high in cholesterol are rich in important nutrients that are absent in many people’s foods.

The liver produces most of the blood cholesterol and when foods high in cholesterol are eaten, the liver reduces its production of cholesterol.

For this reason, dietary cholesterol has a minor impact on blood cholesterol and is not associated with heart attack or stroke (2). Many high-cholesterol foods are healthy and highly nutritious.

It is important to note that the information contained herein on healthy foods high in cholesterol are evidence-based.

However, feel free to interrogate this evidence and be better informed to make a healthy choice.

Here are healthy foods high in cholesterol that will improve your health

Cod liver oil is healthy and rich in cholesterol

1. Cod Liver Oil

Cod liver oil healthy and highly nutritious. A tablespoon full of cod liver oil contains 270% of recommended daily intake of vitamin A, 338% of the daily requirement for vitamin D, and provides 77mg of cholesterol (3).

Cod liver oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids and offers protection against heart disease and cancer. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to lower the risk of heart disease and have many more health benefits (4).

Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D work synergistically to protect the body against cancer (5).

Also, evidence shows that the symptoms of joint pain and rheumatoid arthritis can be reduced by the intake of cod liver oil (6, 7).

Dark chocolate is healthy and rich in cholesterol

2. Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate contains antioxidants known as flavonols which improve heart health and reduce the levels of cholesterol and formation of arterial plaque.

Research has shown that dark healthy chocolate contains polyphenols which help reduce lipid peroxidation.

A study in which 45 participants ate 75g of dark chocolate with cocoa polyphenols, white chocolate, or dark chocolate showed a decrease of LDL cholesterol levels in all three study groups, and an increase of HDL cholesterol levels in the dark chocolate with cocoa polyphenols, and dark chocolate groups (8).

Grass-fed beef are healthy and rich in cholesterol

3. Grass-fed beef

Perhaps you have heard the claim that your cholesterol levels can be controlled or reduced by lowering your intake of saturated fat. It may interest you to know that research has disproved this claim.

The research shows that the consumption of chicken and lean beef has similar effects on total cholesterol, LDL and HDL levels as well as the triglycerides levels, an indication that chicken can be interchanged with grass-fed beef (9).

Pasture-raised beef is rich in protein and important minerals and vitamins such as zinc, iron, vitamin B12 and selenium (10).

Grass-fed steak is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids which possess anti-inflammatory properties (11, 12). It is however lower in cholesterol than feedlot beef.

A 112g serving of grass-fed steak contains 62mg of cholesterol which is about 20% of the recommended daily requirement for cholesterol (13).

It is important to note that heart disease is associated with consumption of processed meat.

However, studies have shown no direct link between risk of heart disease and eating of red meat (14, 15).

Yogurt is healthy and rich in cholesterol

4. Yogurt

Full-fat yogurt is a fermented dairy product that is rich in cholesterol and other nutrients such as potassium, zinc, protein, B vitamins, phosphorus, zinc and calcium.

A cup of full-fat yogurt, about 245g serving, provides 31.9mg of cholesterol which is 11% of the recommended daily intake for cholesterol.

Yogurt positively impacts friendly gut bacteria and therefore have beneficial impact on intestinal health (16).

Research has shown that eating full-fat dairy products helps to reduce bad cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke (17).

Liver steak is healthy and rich in cholesterol

5. Liver

Liver is an organ meat, rich in cholesterol and highly nutritious regardless of the source. So, always include it in your diet to take advantage of its high nutritional value.

A 100g serving of beef liver provides 396mg of cholesterol and 28g of protein. Liver is also rich in many minerals and vitamins.

Liver provides more than 1000% of the recommended daily requirement of B12, and more than 600% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin A.

Also, liver is rich in heme form of iron that is easily absorbed, providing about 38% of the recommended daily intake for iron (18).

One serving of beef liver provides 426mg of choline which helps to improve the health of liver, heart, muscles and brain (19, 20, 21).

Most people do not get enough of choline, but you can easily get enough of it from whole eggs and liver which are among the best sources of choline worldwide. (20, 21).

Cheese is healthy and rich in cholesterol

6. Cheese

Cheese is a filling, tasty, and nutrient-dense food that is high in cholesterol. About 28.5g (an ounce) serving of cheese provides 27mg of cholesterol.

Cheese is also high in other nutrients such as calcium and protein. For example, an ounce of cheese contains 20% of the recommended daily requirement for calcium, and 7g of protein (22).

The fact remains that cheese is high in saturated fats. However, research has shown that it may improve heart health (23, 24).

Cheese may also help to reduce tooth decay, promote loss of body fat, and increase muscle mass owing to its high-protein and low-carb content (25, 26).

Shellfish is healthy and rich in cholesterol

7. Shellfish

Shellfish is popular, very delicious, nourishing and eaten widely. The most popular shellfish types include crab, clams, oysters, scallops, lobster, shrimp and mussels.

Shellfish is high in cholesterol and low in fat. A 100g part of shrimp provides 195mg of cholesterol. It is an excellent source of niacin, iron, protein and vitamin B12 (27).

A serving of shellfish provides inflammation-reducing minerals that may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Same serving will also yield more than 50% of the recommended daily requirement for selenium (28, 29).

Further, shellfish is an excellent source of iodine which helps the thyroid gland and brain to function properly.

Research has shown that women and children are more at risk of iodine deficiency (30, 31). So, you are advised to eat more shellfish to help increase your iodine levels.

Sardines are healthy and rich in cholesterol

8. Sardines

Sardines are healthy, high-cholesterol food that should be eaten by all. A 100g serving of sardines provides 142mg of cholesterol.

Sardines contain 1.5g of healthy omega-3 fatty acids which are highly beneficial. Omega-3 fatty acids help to improve brain health and reduce the risk of heart disease (32, 33, 34).

Omega-3 fatty acids help to reduce the symptoms of depression as was found in a study which revealed that 69% of the study participants who took omega-3 fat EPA daily had their depression symptoms reduced (35).

Also, one serving of sardines yields 75% of the recommended daily requirement for selenium; provides 25g of protein; contains 38% of the recommended daily requirement for calcium, and provides 68% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin D (36).

Eggs are healthy foods high in cholesterol

9. Eggs

Eggs are highly nutritious, and very rich in cholesterol. For example, two big eggs together provide 422mg of cholesterol (37).

Two large Eggs also provide good amounts of choline, vitamin B12 and riboflavin, as well as 13g of protein, and 44% of the recommended daily requirement for selenium (37).

Are you among the people that eat only the egg white and throw away the cholesterol rich yolk due to the fear of the cholesterol in the yolk? There is no need to do that.

In fact, the egg white contains mostly protein while the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg, providing antioxidants such as zeaxanthin and lutein which protect against macular degeneration and cataracts (38, 39).

So, make sure you eat the whole egg which helps to modify blood LDL cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease (40, 41).

Eggs also make you feel satisfied and full, and reduce your blood glucose levels (42, 43).

Organ meats are healthy and rich in cholesterol

10. Brain, heart and kidney organ meats

Brain, heart and kidneys are other common organ meats that are low in fat and high in cholesterol. For example, a 100g serving of kidney meat of a lamb provides 3g of fat and 337mg of cholesterol (44).

Brain, heart and kidney meats are also high in minerals and vitamins including vitamin B complex, iron and selenium.

For example, a serving of kidney meat contains 181% of the recommended daily requirement for selenium, and 874% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin B12.

Heart meat is rich in CoQ10 which helps to reduce total cholesterol and protect against heart failure (45, 46). Research has shown that CoQ10 also reduces muscle pain that is related to statin drugs that lower cholesterol (47, 48, 49).

Final thoughts on healthy foods rich in cholesterol

You may feel rest assured that you have the right type of food when you see food companies’ products indicating they are low in cholesterol.

However, the fact remains that dietary cholesterol has little impact on the level of cholesterol in the body.

Healthy foods high in cholesterol can fit into a nutritious well-balanced diet. So do not be afraid of these foods. Embrace and eat them with relish.

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