7 High-Cholesterol Foods That Are Super Healthy

For years, you’ve been told that high-cholesterol foods can cause heart disease.

However, many recent studies have shown that this isn’t true (1).

Most of the cholesterol in your blood is produced by your liver. When you eat foods high in cholesterol, your liver produces less (2).

For this reason, cholesterol in the diet has only minor effects on cholesterol in the blood (3).

Studies also show that eating dietary cholesterol has no link to heart attacks or strokes (3, 4).

What’s more, many foods high in cholesterol are also among the healthiest and most nutritious foods on the planet.

Here are 7 high-cholesterol foods that are actually super healthy.

1. Cheese

Cheese is a tasty, filling, nutrient-dense food.

One ounce of cheese provides 27 mg of cholesterol, which is relatively high.

However, cheese is also loaded with other nutrients. For example, an ounce of cheese has 7 grams of quality protein and provides 20% of the RDI for calcium (5).

Despite also being high in saturated fat, research suggests that it may improve heart health (6, 7).

High-protein, low-carb dairy foods like cheese may also help decrease body fat, increase muscle mass and reduce tooth decay (8, 9).

2. Eggs

Eggs are definitely among the most nutritious foods on earth.

They are also extremely high in cholesterol, with two large eggs providing a total of 422 mg (10).

They also provide 13 grams of protein, 46% of the RDI for selenium, as well as good amounts of riboflavin, vitamin B12 and choline (10).

Unfortunately, some people throw out the cholesterol-rich yolk and eat only the egg white. This is generally due to a misguided fear of the cholesterol in the yolk.

However, the yolk is by far the most nutritious part of the egg. It provides almost all the nutrients, while the white is mostly protein.

In addition, egg yolks contain the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which provide protection from eye disorders like cataracts and macular degeneration (11, 12).

Eating whole eggs may actually reduce your risk of heart disease by modifying the LDL cholesterol in your blood (13, 14).

Eggs may also lower blood sugar levels, and make you feel full and satisfied (15, 16).

3. Liver

Liver is a nutrition powerhouse.

It’s also rich in cholesterol, regardless of the animal source.

For instance, a 100-gram (3.5 ounce) serving of beef liver contains 396 mg of cholesterol.

This serving also provides 28 grams of protein and is rich in many vitamins and minerals. In fact, it contains more than 600% of the RDI for vitamin A and more than 1,000% of the RDI for vitamin B12 (17).

It also provides 38% of the RDI for iron. What’s more, this is the heme form of iron that is most easily absorbed (18).

In addition, one serving of beef liver contains 426 mg of choline, an important nutrient that helps protect the health of your brain, heart, liver and muscles (19, 20, 21).

Along with whole eggs, liver is actually among the world’s best sources of choline. This is important because most people don’t get enough of this nutrient (20, 22).

4. Shellfish

Shellfish are delicious and nourishing foods.

Some of the most popular types include shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, oysters, clams and scallops.

Interestingly, shellfish is low in fat yet high in cholesterol.

For example, a 100-gram (3.5 ounce) portion of shrimp contains 195 mg of cholesterol and only 1 gram of fat.

It’s also a great protein source and very high in niacin, vitamin B12 and iron (23).

One serving of most types of shellfish also provides more than 50% of the RDI for selenium, a mineral that reduces inflammation and may decrease the risk of prostate cancer (24, 25).

In addition, shellfish is one of the best sources of iodine, which is crucial for proper brain and thyroid function. Research has shown that many people are at risk of iodine deficiency, particularly women and children (26, 27).

5. Cod Liver Oil

Cod liver oil delivers amazing health benefits in a concentrated form.

Just one tablespoon has 77 mg of cholesterol. It also contains 270% of the RDI for vitamin A and 338% of the RDI for vitamin D (28).

Cod liver oil is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may reduce the risk of heart disease and have various other benefits (29).

What’s more, some researchers have suggested that vitamin D and omega-3 fats may work together to protect against cancer (30).

Cod liver oil has also been shown to reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and joint pain (31, 32).

6. Other Organ Meats

Although liver is the most popular organ meat, others are also consumed.

Some other common types include kidneys, heart and brain.

Like shellfish, most organ meat is high in cholesterol and low in fat.

For instance, a 100-gram (3.5 ounce) serving of lamb kidneys contains 337 mg of cholesterol and only 3 grams of fat (33).

Organ meat is also rich in several vitamins and minerals, including the B vitamins, selenium and iron. In fact, one serving of kidneys provides a whopping 874% of the RDI for vitamin B12 and 181% of the RDI for selenium.

In addition, heart meat is very high in CoQ10, which may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and heart failure. CoQ10 may also reduce the muscle pain related to cholesterol-lowering statin drugs (34, 35, 36).

7. Sardines

Sardines are a true superfood.

They’re also higher in cholesterol than many people realize. A 100-gram (3.5 ounce) serving of sardines contains 142 mg of cholesterol.

One serving of sardines provides 25 grams of protein, 68% of the RDI for vitamin D, 38% of the RDI for calcium and 75% of the RDI for selenium (37).

It also contains 1,480 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. These have several health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and protecting brain health (38, 39, 40).

Omega-3 fats may also be helpful for people with depression. In one 12-week study, 69% of patients who took the omega-3 fat EPA on a daily basis reported a reduction in symptoms of depression (41).

Take Home Message

Dietary cholesterol has only minimal effects on blood cholesterol. More importantly, it has absolutely no link with the risk of heart disease.

The truth is that most of the foods that are high in cholesterol are also super healthy and nutritious.

These foods should be embraced, not feared.

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How to manage STRESS !?

How to manage the stress in the life,what means stress and how to prevent from him....

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Whole Eggs and Egg Yolks Bad For You, or Good?

Depending on who you ask, whole eggs are either healthy or unhealthy.

On one hand, they’re considered an excellent and inexpensive source of protein and various nutrients.

On the other hand, many people believe that the yolks can increase heart disease risk.

So are eggs good or bad for your health? This article explores both sides of the argument.

Why Are Eggs Sometimes Considered Unhealthy?

Whole eggs have two main components:

• Egg white: The white part, which is mostly protein.
• Egg yolk: The yellow/orange part, which contains all sorts of nutrients.

The main reason eggs were considered to be unhealthy in the past, is that the yolks are high in cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in food, and it’s also made by your body. A few decades ago, large studies linked high blood cholesterol to heart disease.

In 1961, the American Heart Association recommended limiting dietary cholesterol. Many other international health organizations did the same.

Over the next several decades, worldwide egg consumption decreased significantly. Many people replaced eggs with cholesterol-free egg substitutes that were promoted as a healthier option.

It’s True That Whole Eggs Are High in Cholesterol

Whole eggs (with the yolks) are undeniably high in cholesterol. In fact, they’re the major source of cholesterol in most people’s diets.

Two large whole eggs (100 grams) contain about 422 mg of cholesterol (1).

By contrast, 100 grams of 30% fat ground beef has only about 88 mg of cholesterol (2).

Up until very recently, the recommended maximum daily intake of cholesterol was 300 mg per day. It was even lower for people with heart disease.

However, based on the latest research, health organizations in many countries no longer recommend restricting cholesterol intake.

For the first time in decades, the US Dietary Guidelines released in January 2016 did not specify an upper daily limit for dietary cholesterol.

Despite this change, many people remain concerned about consuming eggs.

This is because they’ve been conditioned to associate high dietary cholesterol intake with high blood cholesterol and heart disease.

That being said, just because a food is high in cholesterol, it doesn’t necessarily raise cholesterol levels in the blood.

How Eating Eggs Affects Blood Cholesterol

Although it may seem logical that dietary cholesterol would raise blood cholesterol levels, it usually doesn’t work that way.

Your liver actually produces cholesterol in large amounts, because cholesterol is a necessary nutrient for your cells.

When you eat larger amounts of high-cholesterol foods such as eggs, your liver simply starts producing less cholesterol (3, 4).

Conversely, when you get little cholesterol from food, your liver produces more.

Because of this, blood cholesterol levels don’t change significantly in most people when they eat more cholesterol from foods (5).

Also, let’s keep in mind that cholesterol isn’t a “bad” substance. It is actually involved in various processes in the body, such as:

• Used to produce vitamin D.
• Produces steroid hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
• Produces bile acids, which help digest fat.

Last but not least, cholesterol is found in every single cell membrane in your body. Without it, humans wouldn’t exist.

Do Eggs Increase Heart Disease Risk?

Several controlled studies have examined how eggs affect heart disease risk factors. The findings are mostly positive or neutral.

Studies show that eating 1–2 whole eggs per day doesn’t seem to change cholesterol levels or heart disease risk factors (6, 7, 8).

What’s more, consuming eggs as part of a low-carb diet improves markers of heart disease in people with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. This includes the size and shape of LDL particles (9, 10, 11).

One study followed pre-diabetics who were on a carb-restricted diet. Those who consumed whole eggs experienced better insulin sensitivity and greater improvements in heart health markers than those who ate egg whites (10).

In another study, pre-diabetic people on low-carb diets ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks. They had fewer inflammatory markers than those who consumed an egg substitute on an otherwise identical diet (11).

Although LDL (“bad”) cholesterol tends to stay the same or increase only slightly when you eat eggs, HDL (“good”) cholesterol typically increases (10, 12, 13).

In addition, eating omega-3 enriched eggs may help lower triglyceride levels (14, 15).

Research also suggests that eating eggs on a regular basis may be safe for people who already have heart disease.

One study followed 32 people with heart disease. They experienced no negative effects on heart health after consuming 2 whole eggs every day for 12 weeks (16).

To top things off, a review of 17 observational studies with a total of 263,938 people found no association between egg consumption and heart disease or stroke (17).

Do Eggs Increase Diabetes Risk?

Controlled studies show that eggs may improve insulin sensitivity and reduce heart disease risk factors in people with prediabetes.

However, there is conflicting research on egg consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

A review of two studies involving more than 50,000 adults found that those consuming at least one egg daily were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who ate less than one egg per week (18).

A second study in women found an association between high dietary cholesterol intake and increased diabetes risk, but not specifically for eggs (19).

The large observational study mentioned above that found no link between heart attacks and strokes did actually find a 54% increased risk of heart disease when they only looked at people with diabetes (17).

Based on these studies, eggs could be problematic for people who are diabetic or pre-diabetic.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that these are observational studies based on self-reported food intake.

They only show an association between egg consumption and an increased likelihood of developing diabetes, these types of studies can not prove that the eggscaused anything.

In addition, these studies don’t tell us what else the people who developed diabetes were eating, how much exercise they did or what other risk factors they had.

In fact, controlled studies have found that eating eggs along with a healthy diet may benefit people with diabetes.

In one study, people with diabetes who consumed a high-protein, high-cholesterol diet containing 2 eggs per day experienced reductions in fasting blood sugar, insulin and blood pressure, along with an increase in HDL cholesterol (20).

Other studies link egg consumption with improvements in insulin sensitivity and reduced inflammation in people with prediabetes and diabetes (10, 21).

Your Genes May Affect How You Respond to Egg Consumption

Although eggs pose no risk to health in most people, it’s been suggested that those with certain genetic traits may be different.

However, there isn’t a lot of research on this.

The ApoE4 Gene

People who carry a gene known as ApoE4 have an increased risk of high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease (22, 23).

An observational study of more than 1,000 men found no association between high egg or cholesterol intake and heart disease risk in ApoE4 carriers (24).

A controlled study followed people with normal cholesterol levels. A high egg intake, or 750 mg of cholesterol per day, increased total and LDL cholesterol levels in ApoE4 carriers more than twice as much as in people without the gene (25).

However, these people were eating about 3.5 eggs every day for three weeks. It’s possible that eating 1 or 2 eggs may have caused less dramatic changes.

It’s also possible that the increased cholesterol levels in response to high egg intake are temporary.

One study found that when ApoE4 carriers with normal cholesterol experienced higher blood cholesterol levels in response to a high-cholesterol diet, their bodies began producing less cholesterol to compensate (26).

Familial Hypercholesterolemia

A genetic condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia is characterized by very high blood cholesterol levels and an increased risk of heart disease (27).

According to experts, reducing cholesterol levels is very important for people with this condition. It often requires a combination of diet and medication.

People with familial hypercholesterolemia may need to avoid eggs.

Dietary Cholesterol Hyper-Responders

A number of people are considered “hyper-responders” to dietary cholesterol. This means that their blood cholesterol levels increase when they eat more cholesterol.

Often both HDL and LDL cholesterol levels increase in this group of people when they consume eggs or other high-cholesterol foods (28, 29).

However, some studies report that LDL and total cholesterol went up significantly in hyper-responders who increased their egg intake, but HDL was stable (30, 31).

On the other hand, a group of hyper-responders consuming 3 eggs per day for 30 days mainly had an increase in large LDL particles, which are not considered as harmful as small LDL particles (32).

What’s more, hyper-responders may absorb more of the antioxidants located in the yellow pigment of egg yolk. These can benefit eye and heart health (33).

Eggs Are Loaded with Nutrients

Eggs also have a ton of nutrients and health benefits that need to be mentioned when considering the health effects of eggs.

They are a great source of high-quality protein, as well as several important vitamins and minerals.

One large whole egg contains (1):

• Calories: 72.
• Protein: 6 grams.
• Vitamin A: 5% of the RDI.
• Riboflavin: 14% of the RDI.
• Vitamin B12: 11% of the RDI.
• Folate: 6% of the RDI.
• Iron: 5% of the RDI.
• Selenium: 23% of the RDI.

Then there are many other nutrients in there in smaller amounts. In fact, eggs contain a little bit of almost everything the human body needs.

Eggs Have Many Health Benefits

Studies show that eating eggs can have various health benefits. These include:

• Help keep you full: Several studies show that eggs promote fullness and help control hunger so you eat less at your next meal (34, 35, 36).
• Promote weight loss: The high-quality protein in eggs increases metabolic rate and can help you lose weight (37, 38, 39).
• Protect brain health: Eggs are an excellent source of choline, which is important for your brain (40, 41).
• Reduce eye disease risk: The lutein and zeaxanthin in eggs help protect against the eye diseases cataracts and macular degeneration (13, 42, 43).
• Decrease inflammation: Eggs may reduce inflammation, which is linked to various diseases (11, 20).

You can read more in this article: 10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Eggs.

Eggs Are Super Healthy (for Most People)

In general, eggs are one of the healthiest and most nutritious foods you can eat.

In most cases, they do not increase cholesterol levels much. Even when they do, they often increase HDL (the “good”) cholesterol and modify the shape and size of LDL in a way that reduces disease risk.

However, as with most things in nutrition, this may not apply to everyone and some people may need to limit their egg intake.

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Can “Diet” Make You Fat? The Truth on Artificial Sweeteners

Added sugar is a disaster and many people are trying to avoid it.

But most of us are accustomed to sweet foods, and don’t want to live our lives without them.

For this reason, various artificial chemicals have been invented to replicate the effects of sugar.

These are substances that can stimulate the sweet taste receptors on the tongue.

They usually have no calories and don’t have the harmful metabolic effects of added sugar.

These chemicals are known as “artificial” sweeteners… as opposed to “natural” sweeteners like sugar or honey.

These chemicals are very sweet, and they are often added to foods and beverages that are then marketed as weight loss friendly… which makes sense given that they are virtually calorie free.

However, despite increased use of these low-calorie sweeteners (and diet foods in general), the obesity epidemic has only gotten worse.

The evidence regarding artificial sweeteners is actually fairly mixed and the use of these substances is highly controversial.

So… what is the truth about artificial sweeteners? How do they affect appetite, body weight and our risk for obesity-related disease?

Let’s have a look…

There Are Many Different Types of Artificial Sweeteners

There are numerous different artificial sweeteners available and the chemical structure varies between them.

What they all have in common, is that they are incredibly effective at stimulating the sweet taste receptors on the tongue.

In fact, most are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, gram for gram.

Some of them (such as aspartame) do contain calories, but the total amount needed to provide a sweet flavour is so little that the calories you ingest are negligible (1).

Here is a table showing the most common artificial sweeteners, how sweet they are relative to sugar, and brand names they are sold under:

Then there are other low-calorie sweeteners that are processed from natural ingredients and therefore don’t count as “artificial.”

This includes the natural zero-calorie sweetener stevia, as well as sugar alcohols likexylitol, erythritol, sorbitol and mannitol. Sugar alcohols tend to have similar sweetness as sugar but less than half as many calories.

This article is strictly about the artificial sweeteners… but you can read about the natural ones here.

Artificial Sweeteners and Appetite Regulation

Animals, including humans, don’t just seek food to satisfy energy needs.

We also seek so-called “reward” from food.

Sugar-sweetened foods trigger brain chemicals and hormones to be released, part of what is known as the “food reward” pathway (2, 3, 4, 5).

“Food reward” is crucial to feeling satisfied after eating and shares brain circuitry with addictive behaviors, including drugs (6, 7, 2).

While artificial sweeteners provide sweet taste, many researchers believe that the lack of calories prevents complete activation of the food reward pathway.

This may be the reason artificial sweeteners are linked with increased appetite and cravings for sugary food in some studies (8).

Magnetic imaging in 5 men showed that sugar consumption decreased signalling in the hypothalamus, the appetite regulator of the brain (9).

This response was not seen with consumption of aspartame, suggesting that the brain does not register artificial sweeteners as having a satiating effect.

It may be that sweetness without the calories leads to further food seeking behavior, adding to your overall caloric intake.

But… there have also been studies where artificial sweeteners did not affect appetite or caloric intake from other foods (10, 11).

In a 6 month study of 200 individuals, replacing sugary drinks with either artificially sweetened drinks or water had no effect on food intake (12).

Sweeteners and Sugar Cravings

Another argument opposing artificial sweeteners is that the unnatural sweetness encourages sugar cravings and sugar dependence.

This idea is logical considering that flavor preferences in humans can be trained with repeated exposure (13).

For example, we know that reducing salt or fat for several weeks leads to a preference for lower levels of those nutrients (14, 15). Sweetness is no different.

While this is not proven, it does seem to make sense. The more we eat of sweet foods, the more we want them.

Observational Studies on Artificial Sweeteners and Body Weight

Many observational studies have been conducted on artificial sweeteners.

These kinds of studies take a group of people and ask them about various factors, such as what they eat.

Then many years later, they can see whether a particular variable (such as artificial sweetener use) was associated with either an increased or decreased risk of disease.

These types of studies don’t prove anything, but they can help us find patterns that warrant further investigation.

Several of these studies have paradoxically found that artificially sweetened drinks are linked to weight gain rather than weight loss (16).

However, the most recent review, which summarized the findings of 9 observational studies, found that artificial sweeteners were associated with a slightly higher BMI, but not with body weight or fat mass (17).

I should point out that this study was industry sponsored. It doesn’t mean that the results are invalid, just that we should be extra skeptical because the funding sourceof a study can often skew the results and the interpretation of the data (18).

That being said… correlation does not imply causation, so these studies don’t prove anything one way or the other.

Fortunately, the effects of artificial sweeteners on body weight have also been studied in numerous controlled trials (real science).

Controlled Trials on Artificial Sweeteners

Many clinical trials have concluded that artificial sweeteners are favorable for weight control (19, 20, 21, 22).

One of the largest trials looked at 641 children aged 4-11 years who had to drink either 250 ml (8.5 ounces) of an artificially sweetened drink, or the same amount of a sugary drink every day for 18 months.

The children who were assigned the artificially sweetened drinks gained significantly less weight and less fat than the sugar-drinking children (19).

The most recent review of 15 clinical trials found that replacing sugary drinks with their artificially sweetened versions can result in modest weight loss of about 1.8 lbs (0.8 kg), on average (17).

Two other recent reviews led to similar findings (23, 24).

So… according to the best available evidence, artificial sweeteners appear to be mildly effective for weight loss.

They certainly don’t seem to cause weight gain, at least not on average.

Artificial Sweeteners and Metabolic Health

All of this being said, health is about way more than just weight.

There are some observational studies (again, studies that don’t prove anything) linking artificial sweetener consumption to metabolic disease.

This includes an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Sometimes the results are quite staggering… for example, one study found that diet soft drinks were linked to a 121% greater risk of type 2 diabetes (25).

Another study found that these beverages were linked to a 34% greater risk of metabolic syndrome (26).

This is supported by a recent high-profile study on artificial sweeteners, showing that they caused a disruption in the gut bacterial environment and induced glucose intolerance in both rats and humans (27).

It is known that the bacteria in the intestine (gut flora) are incredibly important for health (28, 29, 30).

Whether artificial sweeteners cause problems by disrupting the gut bacteria needs to be studied further, but it appears that there may be some cause for concern.

Take Home Message

Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners may be helpful in reducing body weight, but only very slightly at best.

Their intake certainly does not seem to cause weight gain, at least not in the short-term.

At the end of the day, artificial sweeteners are not “toxic” like some people make them out to be, but I’m not convinced that they’re perfectly safe either.

The research goes both ways… and the decision about using them must come down to the individual.

If you’re healthy, happy and satisfied with the results you’re getting and you happen to use artificial sweeteners… then there’s no need to change anything. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.

However… if you suffer from cravings, poor blood sugar control or any mysterious health problem, avoiding artificial sweeteners may be one of many things to consider.

Different strokes for different folks.

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