Cholesterol is a waxy substance. It is required in body to build cells. But too much causes a problem. Cholesterol comes from 2 sources:

1) Body makes all the cholesterol you need.

2) The rest you get from foods from animals like meat, poultry and full fat dairy products.

Cholesterol circulates in the blood and as blood cholesterol level rise so does the risk to health. Its is easy to eat your way to an alarmingly high level of cholesterol. Many people these days are having high borderline cholesterol levels. But you can reverse it too.

Here are lists of foods that can help you increase and decrease your cholesterol.

Foods that increase risk of cholesterol ( Avoid them as much possible)

- Red meat

- Full fat dairy products

- Egg yolks

- Palm oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter

- Trans fats ( Covered in detail in next blog)

foods that decrease cholesterol levels in body.

- Oats ( whole)

- Barely

- Beans

- Soya

- Almonds & Walnuts

- Vegetable oils

- Fish

- Apple & Pomegranate

- Flax seed, Chia seeds & Methi seeds

- Avocado

All the above foods along with appropriate exercise help you reduce the risks of high cholesterol levels.

(In our next blog, we will be coming up with detailed discussion on trans fats.)