What Is Oxidized Cholesterol?
7. What Happens When You Eat Oxidized Cholesterol?
Consuming oxidized cholesterol as food adds to its overall level in the blood. Oxidized cholesterol is present in animal products that have been heated to a high temperature or overly processed. Examples of foods with oxidized cholesterol are fried chicken, grilled steak, processed meats such as salami or bologna, instant non-fat powdered milk, some whey protein concentrates, egg products, and powdered eggs.
Surprisingly, recent evidence suggests that the lipid primarily responsible for the formation of oxidized cholesterol in the body is not an animal product at all but instead is polyunsaturated vegetable oil from modern agricultural crop plants such as corn, oil, and soybeans. These oils contain linoleic acid and omega-6 fatty acids, which make them prone to rancidity when exposed to light and air. People who eat a lot of polyunsaturated vegetable oils have been shown to carry detectable levels of linoleic acid and omega-6 fatty acids in their subcutaneous fat and blood platelets because once in the body, they out-compete other, beneficial fatty acids for uptake into cells. The vegetable oils also become part of lipoproteins (VLDL and LDL cholesterol), causing them to become oxidized more easily.
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