Cows have high cholesterol in their meat and moreso in their fat. Why is so???

Question

They are on cholesterol free diet. Grass, hay, grain water. Where does all that cholesterol come from?????

Answer 1

Cholesterol is what the cell membrane in animals is, in essence, made out of. The animal eats grass as a food, and the metabolism of the animal takes the digested grass components and reassembles them into muscle, bone, connective tissue, etc. Excess food not needed at that time is stored as a component in fat reserves until needed, if needed.

Answer 2

The cholesterol in the blood is made in our liver and also comes from food we eat. So even if cows eat a completely cholesterol free diet, excess food sugars, carbohydrates etc. would be converted to cholesterol and fats.  Cholesterol is transported through the bloodstream in the form of lipoproteins. The two most commonly known lipoproteins are low-density lipoproteins  and high-density lipoproteins.

These two types of lipids and triglycerides (another form of fat made in the body) are part of the total blood cholesterol.

The same thing is true for us humans as well.  The cholesterol in our blood stream comes not only from what we eat but how much we eat.

Cows fed on only grass will have less fat and less cholesterol than those fed on a high carbohydrate grain diet.  However, cows fed out on a good grass pasture can still get fairly fat.