Do vegetarians have a lack of cholesterol?

Question

Do vegetarians have a lack of cholesterol?

Answer 1

A lack? no, because the body manufactures cholesterol  naturally, regardless of how much you eat. They probably have lower cholesterol than some meat eaters...unless high cholesterol runs in the family.

Answer 2

Dairy and eggs have cholesterol.  All animal foods have cholesterol, and plant foods do not.

HOWEVER, two things to keep in mind:  1) Your body makes all the cholesterol you need based on family history.  2) If you come from a family that tends to have high cholesterol, your levels will be elevated even if you are vegan and consume essentially no cholesterol.

And yes, saturated fat and transfats cause your body to make more cholesterol.

Answer 3

it doesn't matter waht you are sometimes it's just in your genes. you could have high cholesterol even if you don't eat meat.

Answer 4

Well I havn't heard of that before. Usually veg*ans have low cholesterol. As long as they keep the good fats up which can be found in foods such as avacados.

Answer 5

not exactly. you need certain cholesterols and your body seeks to maintain certain levels of these cholesterols by producing them. in fact, you must be careful you do not eat certain foods, such as margarine and hydrogenated vegetable oil, which trick your body into producing more cholesterol, and put the bad cholesterol in your body. some vegetarians eat cheese, eggs or seafood, so the cholesterol comes in from those foods. vegetarian diet can lower cholesterol levels, but discuss all diets and exercise with your doctor...

Answer 6

Not necessarily.  Sometimes high cholesterol runs in the family.  Also, it's not just meats that have cholesterol.  Dairy and a lot of snacks can run a little high. Depends on the person and the specific diet.

Answer 7

huh?

Well, we don't ingest it. There isn't any in a plant based diet. But the human body does have some of its own. But do you mean do we, as a population, have lower rates of what is called bad cholesterol  -- yes, we do.

Answer 8

Depends upon the individual.

There really is no one answer covers the total for any particular group - even vegetarian.

Looking on the side of packages that you buy - show the amount of cholesterol within a serving.  BUT - that doesn't mean it it is 'good' or 'bad' - just gives the level.

Some people geneticly handle cholestrol better than others - some don't.  Example - my late husband's father doesn't handle cholesterol well at all for some reason - no matter the changes to his diet.  He is on med's - and it is still 'high' per the doctor.  He eats meat.

I don't eat animal products - and my doctor thinks my cholesterol is high - but I refuse the med's and just rely on my diet and figure that is just the way that my body wants it to be (doctor not too happy with the approach - but she can't force me to take med's I won't take either).  But then, 160 would have been considered 'normal' a few years ago - now it is considered 'high' - but then my 'good' is I think something like 80 (?) which according to what *I* have read actually levels out my levels.

So - depends on the individual.

Answer 9

That depends.  I am a vegetarian and high cholesterol runs in my family (and thus my levels are very elevated).  If you take a case where your vegetarian doesn't have hereditary cholesterol issues, then their levels will be fine.  Our diets are usually low in fat, but things like ice cream, milk, cheese, shrimp (for flexitarians), etc...have cholesterol content, so there will be some amount of cholesterol.  (A normal level is perfectly healthy, and is imperative).  No cholesterol is a bad thing just like high cholesterol.