What foods cause high cholesterol? Isn’t that the question we need to asking?
If cholesterol levels are rising, along with weight and obesity rates, population wide, then the answer is not genetics, it’s the food we eat.
Animal products and refined foods are where you get cholesterol from; the foods with the lowest nutrient value and the highest caloric value. With respect to processed foods, it is these foods that are addressed in nutritional and medical literature countless times, as being the cause of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
The medical literature has over 15,000 studies implicating animal products and refined foods. How many implicate fruits and vegetables, beans and the other plant foods as disease promoting? None!
Animals make cholesterol, not plants. You make cholesterol, not plants. Your cholesterol goes up to the extent that you:
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Eat foods that contain cholesterol that you don’t need
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Produce more cholesterol than you actually need as a result of the foods you eat.
You don’t get cholesterol from whole foods of plant origin which should comprise the bulk of your diet, to the tune of 80-90%, or more!
The more Fruits, Vegetables, Bean’s / Legumes, Raw Nuts and Seeds, Whole Unrefined Grains you eat, and the countless derivative dishes you can make from the 140+ foods you can choose from these categories, the faster your cholesterol will go down.
It’s the difference between eating this recipe:
Note: This is just one of countless examples –
Flax/Oatmeal Bars
½ cup dried apples
½ cup raisins
½ cup dates
1 ½ vanilla soy milk
1 cup rolled oats or oat flakes
3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon raw cashew butter or peanut butter
And this one
2 Eggs, Fried Sunny Side up
Two links of pork sausage
2 slices white bread toast with butter and jelly
1 cup coffee
The above recipe is loaded with excess dietary cholesterol. But even more so, it’s loaded with foods that cause your body to produce more cholesterol.
The more foods and meals you eat containing animal products and refined foods, the faster and higher your cholesterol will go up!
The key is knowing “the sweet spot for successful eating” – stay tuned. Eating Nutrient Rich foods is the safest most effective way to lower your cholesterol.