Technically speaking, cholesterol is a fat-soluble steroid alcohol made by the body and used to make cell membranes, sex hormones, and cortisone, among other things. Our bodies make some 500-1,000 milligrams of this substance daily, which is all the cholesterol we need. We really don’t need to get any cholesterol in our diets, but of course we do. We take in cholesterol whenever we eat meat, fish, chicken, eggs, milk, or other foods that come from animals. And many of these foods are also high in fat. Foods that come from plants, however, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, peas, beans, and lentils, do not contain cholesterol and, with a few exceptions, are also low on fat.
Most of us take in 400-500 milligrams of cholesterol every day in the food that we eat. The body may attempt to compensate for this additional load by cutting back on its own cholesterol production. When, as often happens, the body cannot cut back far enough, the blood cholesterol level rises. Eating saturated fats also causes the body to manufacture cholesterol. In fact, you could eat no animal foods at all but still because your blood cholesterol to rise by eating foods made with palm and/ or coconut oil, both of which are high in saturated fat.
As a rule of thumb, you can simultaneously lower your fat intake and cholesterol level by eating more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. On the other hand, consuming more meat and high-fat dairy products will cause both of these levels to rise.
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