Best & Worst Foods for Your Cholesterol

While nutritionists and researchers may disagree about how certain foods and fats affect our overall cholesterol levels, one universal truth that everyone can agree on is that trans fat is an ultimate evil lurking in our food chain, proven time and again to lower healthy HDL cholesterol, raise artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, and put us at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. In fact, this artificial fat is so hazardous to our bodies that in 2007 the New York City Department of Health banned its use in restaurants.

Which of course led to the destruction of all the city’s restaurants and caused New York to drop into the sea. Oh no, wait ... that didn’t happen. In fact, the effect on New York’s restaurants—including its fast-food joints—was pretty much zilch. That’s because there are plenty of suitable, and much healthier, options out there and plenty of industry titans are using them. But to this day, many chain restaurants and food manufacturers in most parts of the country are still clinging to hydrogenated oils and shortening, and putting you, the consumer, in danger as a result.

What’s so unfair about this ongoing disregard for our health is that many fats are actually good for us—having a positive impact on our cholesterol profiles while also helping us stay fuller longer. Monounsaturated fats, like those found in olive and canola oils and healthy foods like avocados and nuts, can be used to make most any food better for us.

Make it your mission to eat healthfully for every single meal. Check out the four worst—and four best—meals for your cholesterol. And for more great tips like these, order the latest, most up-to-date version of the best-selling weight-loss series: Eat This, Not That! The Best (& Worst!) Foods in America!

The worsts

Worst breakfast

Bob Evans Stacked & Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes

• 9 g trans fat
• 1,543 calories
• 77 g fat (26 g saturated)
• 109 g sugars
• 2,259 mg sodium

These problematic pancakes keep popping up on our worst lists for a reason: They have more calories, sugar, carbs, sodium and fat than nearly any other breakfast in America. Add to that list 4½ days’ worth of trans fat and you begin to wonder why Bob Evans doesn’t make you sign a waiver before applying the syrup. When ordering from Bob’s breakfast menu, stick with items labeled “Fit from the Farm”—aside from scrambled eggs or a plain bowl of oatmeal, they’re the only healthy breakfast foods Bob Evans offers.

Worst lunch

Boston Market Classic Chicken Salad Sandwich

• 5 g trans fat
• 800 calories
• 41 g fat (7 g saturated)
• 1,900 mg sodium

Chicken and tuna salad sandwiches might not be the models of health some purport them to be, but even we were surprised to see how bad this Boston Market sandwich really is. Where do they possibly find the room to cram 2½ days’ worth of trans fat into chicken, mayonnaise, lettuce and bread? The answer lies somewhere in the murky ingredient list, which, as with too many of their dishes, runs at more than 40 items long. Boston Market has a swath of solid entrées—from rotisserie chicken to slices of sirloin—and healthy sides on their menu. Get a sandwich stacked with lean white meat, minus the trans fat, with Boston Market’s line of open-faced sandwiches.

Worst snack

Pop-Secret Kettle Corn (4 cups popped)

• 6 g trans fat
• 180 calories
• 13 g fat (3 g saturated)
• 150 mg sodium

The only secret here is that the popcorn purveyor uses partially hydrogenated oil to pop their kernels, turning a reasonable snack into a nutritional nightmare of heart-wrenching proportions. This box has three bags of popcorn, which means every time you buy it, you’re bringing 54 grams of dangerous trans fat into your house. There’s not an easier—or more important—swap to make.

Worst dinner

Denny’s Double Cheeseburger

• 7 g trans fat
• 1,540 calories
• 116 g fat (52 g saturated)
• 3,880 mg sodium

There’s nothing redeeming about this atrocious cheeseburger—stacked between
two buns is nearly three times your daily limit of trans fat, three-quarters of the calories you should consume in one day, and the sodium equivalent of 118 saltine crackers. Oh, and did we mention the 59 bacon strips’ worth of saturated fat? Aside from the Fit Fare Boca, you’re not going to find a reasonable burger on the Denny’s menu, so it’s either this or a grilled chicken sandwich.

The bests

Best breakfast

Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal with Nut Medley

• 240 calories
• 11 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
• 0 mg sodium

Best lunch

Baja Fresh Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos (2)

• 460 calories
• 18 g fat (3 g saturated)
• 600 mg sodium

Best snack

Wholly Guacamole Classic (2 Tbsp)

• 50 calories
• 4 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
• 75 mg sodium

Best dinner

Uno Chicago Grill Lemon Basil Salmon with Steamed Broccoli

• 510 calories
• 39 g fat (5 g saturated)
• 1,030 mg sodium