Are you fond of buying processed foods that have “Unknown Cholesterol” written on their label? Beware! Just because they are called unknown does not mean they are already safe.  Thank heavens for researchers; some bright light has been shed over this unidentified cholesterol.  We now know how bad they could be.

A research presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, showed hamsters fed a diet high in this hidden cholesterol had 22% more cholesterol in their blood, causing atherosclerotic plaque buildup.

Instead, experts recommend consuming phytosterols and phytostanols–nutrients found in plant foods–to reduce blood cholesterol.

So you see, it is not only hamburgers and steak that have “bad cholesterol;”  it turns out that this once unknown cholesterol belongs to the same family.  The only difference is that such type of cholesterol is only activated when it is exposed to heating, especially frying and high temperature cooking.  But you have no choice but to cook processed foods lest you get other diseases from it like cancer—yes, lots of carcinogens there, too.

That being said, happy are they who love vegetables.