Which foods can raise your LDL cholesterol?

Q. Which foods raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels?

A. My approach to help people lower their LDL cholesterol levels focuses more on what you should eat. Avoiding certain foods is also important. However, if your diet is loaded with healthy foods then there won't be room for the foods that raise cholesterol.

I am a big fan of a Mediterranean-style diet. In reality there is no formal Mediterranean diet. But the diets of people living in southern Europe tend to share these features:

• lots of fruits and vegetables
• more whole-grain breads and cereals rather than foods made from refined flour
• beans, nuts, and seeds that are healthy sources of protein
• liberal use of olive oil and other unsaturated fats
• more fish than meat or poultry
• moderate use of alcohol, primarily wine.

The foods that can raise LDL cholesterol - and the ones to keep to a minimum - contain trans fatty acids (trans fats) or saturated fats.

Trans fats are the worst. They increase LDL and lower HDL cholesterol levels. Trans fats do not occur naturally. They are made by a process called fat hydrogenation. Food products should no longer contain trans fats. But it's still a good idea to check food labels to make sure.

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