Cholesterol Basics

High Cholesterol & Diet

Meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products make up our dietary cholesterol intake. Organ meats, such as liver, are especially high in cholesterol content. Foods of plant origin contain no cholesterol. After a meal, cholesterol is absorbed by the intestines into the blood circulation and is then packaged inside a protein coat. This cholesterol-protein coat complex is called a chylomicron.

The liver is capable of removing cholesterol from the blood circulation as well as manufacturing cholesterol and secreting cholesterol into the blood circulation. After a meal, the liver removes chylomicrons from the blood circulation. In between meals, the liver manufactures and secretes cholesterol back into the blood circulation.

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