There is nothing more pleasing in the world than food!! Whether bored or excited, we all love munching on delicious delights. In our youth, we don’t bother about which food is healthy and which isn’t.
“C’mon! Food is food! It can’t be bad.” We’ve, of course, been wrong! With age, you need to monitor your food habits as certain food items can aggravate an existing medical condition or even invite new ones.
So here is a list of 10 food items that you certainly need to avoid if you have a heart condition or high cholesterol issues.
1. Liver
The liver is a rich source of iron and is one hell of a scrumptious dish. But do you know that the highest concentrated levels of cholesterol in animals is found in the liver?
People already dealing with high blood cholesterol need to strictly avoid including liver in their meals to avoid any kind of heart-related complications.
2. Shellfish
There is no denial that shellfish offers a variety of health benefits, but this delight is one of the top offenders when it comes to high blood cholesterol.
Apart from shellfish, heart patients should also avoid seafood like oysters, mussels, crab, lobster, and clams. It might be a shocker for few but did you know that the legs of a king crab contain 71 mg of cholesterol per serving, lobster contains 61 mg, and oysters contain 58 mg per serving? So decide for yourself.
3. Cream Cheese
Morning bagels are incomplete without cream cheese. But just 1 oz of cream cheese contains as much as 27 mg of cholesterol. You might want to round up the figure considering your actual serving size.
4. Hamburgers
We all know the struggle of a quick bite in office hours and the best solution – hamburgers! Did you know that an average fast food burger gives you 60–150mg of cholesterol in one serving?
So the next time you want a quick bite, think about these numbers before heading out.
5. Egg Yolk
Egg yolks have the most cholesterol when compared to other food items – a whopping 1,234 mg per 100 g serving. Although avoiding eggs is difficult, the least you can do is to avoid large servings and restrict to just 1–2 eggs a day.
6. Butter
You know this was coming, right? Sorry, but we can’t help it.
1 tablespoon of butter contains as much as 30gm of cholesterol. Since butter is one of the main ingredients for most deserts, avoiding it will difficult.
So you can restrict yourself to desserts that use a minimum of butter sticks instead of those that call for 2–3 sticks of butter, such as shortbread.
7. Duck
Duck might not be a daily food item but is thoroughly enjoyed as a delicacy in all uptight restaurants. This oily meat is considered a good source of protein, iron, and vitamin B.
However, it is also rich in cholesterol. So the next time you visit a fancy restaurant, do yourself a favor and avoid ordering duck for a meal.
8. Fried Chicken
Golden outside, juicy inside – fried chicken is one of the most popular go-to foods of this generation.
While it is one of the yummiest and no-fuzz foods, you might want to opt for some healthy chicken alternatives as the former has much higher cholesterol levels than hamburgers.
9. Shrimps
You might wonder why we have included shrimps in the list as this is the only food item that diet lovers love with its low levels of fat. But the higher levels of cholesterol in shrimps make it a puzzling food for all.
100 g of shrimp contains a massive 65 percent of the recommended daily allowance of cholesterol. But a single large shrimp contains only 3–4 percent. So keep a check on how much you eat in one serving.
10. Ice Cream
Ice creams – the favorite dessert of people of all age groups. Even this sweet treat can prove bitter for your health. One scoop of ice cream can give you cholesterol equivalent to 10 glazed doughnuts!
