Cholesterol and Fats
I almost did not include a section on this as I was under the misconception that everyone already knew this, which is wrong on my part .
Cholesterol which is only found in animal products is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) which includes stroke, heart attack and peripheral vascular disease. The higher this number is, the greater your risk for heart disease. If you are less than 30 then you want it below 180 and if over 30 years old less than 200. Your liver makes some as it is an essential ingredients in some of our cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D production etc. But too much and it gets deposited on the walls or arteries and can lead to blockages.
Lipoproteins including HDL , LDL and others are important too. HDL or so called good cholesterol helps prevent this buildup. So again the higher the better. So HDL over 40 is normal and over 60 is really good. THe LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol deposits on the arterial walls. So lower is better. Less than 100 is good and less than 70 is best if you already have CVD.
Triglycerides play a role too and ideally this should be less than 150.
Saturated Fats ( found primarily in animal products ) also contribute to CVD
Depending on what you have read to this point you know that the food industry - primarily the meat and dairy industry don’t want you to know what foods contain Cholesterol or Saturated Fats. They have successfully lobbied the Congress to not allow in their recommendations ( like those from the Food and Drug administration ) to use meat or dairy which is where cholesterol only comes from or where most of the saturated fats come from. Thus confusing the issue for consumers. So people will keep eating meat and dairy without knowing that these are bad.