The 9 Worst Foods for Your Cholesterol, According to Experts

Among all the modifiable risk factors for heart disease—including smoking, high blood pressure, physical activity, and more—high cholesterol has the strongest link to developing cardiovascular problems, according to 2022 research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Yet modifiable means that you can change or control this risk factor—and the food you eat plays a big role in your cholesterol levels, explains Julia Zumpano, RD, LD, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition.

Still, the pathways between food intake and our cholesterol profiles are still not fully understood, explains Gabrielle Gambino, MS, RD, CDN, CNSC, Senior Clinical Dietitian, Advanced Heart Failure Service, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. “Some people may be more prone to developing high cholesterol due to genetic mutations that impact the way they clear cholesterol in their blood.” She says that some of the larger past studies observing diet and cholesterol hadn’t taken this genetic component into account (along with other variables such as lifestyle factors). 

For instance, remember the days when we were told eggs were bad for cholesterol? “It’s important to look at the foods as a whole,” Gambino says. “Eggs have always been a ‘feared’ food when it comes to cholesterol, but eggs also contain selenium, vitamin B12, choline, and good protein.” 

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Is cholesterol bad for you?

“It’s important to remember that cholesterol can be beneficial and serves important biological purposes,” Gambino says. This includes hormonal regulation, maintaining cell wall integrity, bile acid production, and even vitamin D production. 

The health benefits of cholesterol all come down to having the right balance in your body. “When unhealthily high levels of cholesterol are found in the blood, it could lead to inflammation and plaque build-up in our arteries—which could then lead to decreased blood flow, arterial damage, and complications like high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.” 

This optimal balance refers to the ratio of “bad” and “good” cholesterol, subtypes called LDL and HDL. “HDL is considered a ‘good’ marker, and the higher the HDL, the better—this type of cholesterol helps transport LDL out of the blood,” Gambino explains. “LDL, on the other hand, has a few other subtypes, but overall, this type of cholesterol is harder to clear from our bloodstreams and has a higher risk of causing damage to our arteries.” 

That’s why—like eggs—all cholesterol-containing food isn’t inherently bad. Seafood contains cholesterol, but it’s high in omega-3 fatty acids, too, which can help counteract the detrimental effects of high LDL cholesterol by increasing our bodies’ abilities to get it out of our blood faster, Gambino says. Research has also shown that foods high in cholesterol but low in saturated fat—such as shrimp, lobster, crab, and egg yolks—do not raise cholesterol levels unless consumed in high quantities, Zumpano adds. 

Foods high in fiber can also help clear our arteries by binding to the cholesterol and pushing it out of our bodies. “Almonds are [an] example: They are high in cholesterol but have fiber and phytosterols that help our heart and blood vessels.”  (Plus, new research shows that this powerhouse nut can lower cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes risk.) 

Does dairy increase cholesterol?

“It’s complicated!” Gambino says. Previous studies have suggested all full-fat products can spike cholesterol levels, “But research recently has suggested a neutral or even opposite effect when it comes to fermented dairy products like full-fat yogurt and cheese.” She says that studies suggest a decrease in stroke risk and increased HDL (good) cholesterol levels after eating full-fat dairy. 

Still, “It’s challenging to determine if this is a repeatable, long-term, true trend given the limitations of food studies. We aren’t sure if these results were due to other components of the foods themselves.” For instance, fermented foods positively impact our gut bacteria—and gut bacteria have been found to affect how our heart works and increase the creation of bile, which could impact our cholesterol levels. 

In general, limiting the amount of saturated fat from dairy in your diet is a good idea (particularly for those who are sensitive to developing heart disease and high cholesterol), according to Zumpano. “Specifically high-fat dairy products such as full-fat processed cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and heavy cream,” she says. “Moderate to low-fat dairy such skim or 2% milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and [natural/unprocessed] cheese has a lesser impact on cholesterol.” 

The worst foods for cholesterol

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Trans fats

“Man-made trans fatty acids raise cholesterol and independently contribute to heart disease risks,” says Marie Spano, MS, RD, CSCS, CSSD, a sports nutritionist for the Washington Nationals major league team.

These products can be sneaky, Gambino adds. “Products like microwave popcorn, crackers, and cereal bars may have hidden trans fats in their ingredients—look for the words ‘partially hydrogenated’ in the ingredient labels,” she says. “Trans fats can increase our LDL cholesterol levels. It’s okay to have these foods every once in a while, but try to balance them out with high-fiber foods and polyunsaturated fats like nuts.” 

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Soda

Sugar may have an even greater impact than saturated fat when it comes to high cholesterol and overall heart disease risk, according to a 2016 medical review published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. 2023 research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine expands on why: A diet high in added sugar causes the liver to produce more LDL cholesterol while lowering the amount of HDL in your body. Excess dietary sugar also increases the triglycerides in your blood, “A type of fat that, when combined with high LDL levels, has been seen to detrimentally affect our heart health overall,” Gambino explains.  

Importantly, the researchers say that added sugars are behind this cholesterol-enhancing effect, not the natural sugars found in fruits, vegetables, or whole grains. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sugar-sweetened beverages like soda are the leading source of added sugar in the US diet. (That means you also want to avoid drinking sugary fruit juices, energy drinks, and other flavored beverages.) In fact, 2024 research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that having just one sugary drink per day is associated with an 18% increased risk of heart disease no matter how much a person exercises. 

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White bread, rice, and pasta

Overeating refined carbs—foods stripped of their natural fiber—can have the same effect on your body as drinking soda, says Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietician and nutritionist in New York. “Simple sugars like white bread can actually prompt our livers to produce more LDL cholesterol and may also lower the amounts of HDL cholesterol in our blood,” Gambino explains. 

Stick to whole grains instead, like whole-grain versions of bread, cereal, crackers, and pasta, as well as quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, and barley. The high fiber in these foods can help improve (or at least maintain) your cholesterol levels, according to The Cleveland Clinic. (And oats may be the best whole grain of all for lowering cholesterol.) 

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Meat

Foods high in saturated fats have been linked to increasing cholesterol, Zumpano says, pointing to processed meats, fatty cuts of meat, fast foods, fried foods, and processed foods as the prime examples. 

When it comes to meats, processed meat and red meat may be the greatest heart-health offenders. A 2023 review of research published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition—the largest review to date on the subject—found that each 50-gram-per-day increase in processed meat or unprocessed red meat consumption increased the risk of heart disease by 18% and 9%, respectively. 

Still, while white meat typically has less saturated fat content than red or processed meats, researchers found it might have a similarly negative effect on your cholesterol levels, according to a 2019 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. More research is needed, but the researchers emphasize that all animal products contribute to your cholesterol levels—it’s just a matter of how much—but plant-based proteins have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. 

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Fried foods

Zumpano calls out fried foods as major cholesterol-boosters, and this is because the oils used to fry—or deep-fry—foods are often high in unhealthy fats. In addition, a 2024 review of research published in European Food Research and Technology says that cooking food in oil at high temperatures induces chemical reactions that form (dangerous) trans fats while reducing the amount of (healthy) unsaturated fats available. 

These deep-fried foods also tend to be unhealthy or fatty to begin with—think of fried chicken, fried mozzarella sticks, and donuts, for example—making them a double threat. But even eating fried fish is linked to poor heart health, per the 2024 review of research.

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Some breakfast cereals

Not only are most cereals made of refined carbohydrates, but cold breakfast cereals also tend to pack in the added sugars, warns Spano. In a 2018 study in Plos Biology, people who had healthy blood sugar levels entered prediabetic and diabetic levels after eating one bowl of cereal with milk. 

Over time, eating too much added sugar and starch can also raise blood pressure, increase chronic inflammation, and lead to high triglycerides, low HDL, and high amounts of VLDL (a subtype of LDL cholesterol). Unsweetened oatmeal (look for steel-cut or slow-cooking types that you can sweeten naturally) is a heart-healthier choice, thanks to all the whole grain fiber it delivers.

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Coconut oil

According to Gambino, tropical oils, such as palm and coconut, are particularly high in dietary cholesterol thanks to their saturated fat content (upwards of 80% of coconut oil is saturated fat). Coconut itself is often touted as a superfood—and its meat and water may offer some health benefits. But the American Heart Association specifically advises against using coconut oil, calling it one of the “most deleterious cooking oils that increases risk for cardiovascular disease”, primarily due to how it raises LDL cholesterol.

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Fast food

While generally lacking in nutrients, fast food can have an especially insidious effect on cholesterol. A 2017 study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood found that people who ate fast food more than once a week had an increase in LDL and total cholesterol compared to levels in people who rarely ate it. Another 2024 study backs these findings up: researchers found that people with dangerously high cholesterol consumed significantly more fast food, more sugar-sweetened beverages, and less fiber than people with healthy cholesterol levels—and participants were young nonsmokers with no family history of high cholesterol. 

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Bottled salad dressings

Most salad dressings contain a surprising amount of added sugar, Spano says. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a two-tablespoon serving of typical store-bought Italian dressing contains between 3.5 to 6 grams of added sugar—and this amount can go up even more for “low-fat” products. (Here are 3 healthy salad dressings you can make at home, from a nutritionist.) 

The National Kidney Foundation points to other sneaky sources of added sugar: Condiments like ketchup or barbecue sauce, store-bought pasta sauce, flavored yogurts, and instant oatmeal packets. 

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