Written by
Louise W Lu, PhD, MPH, BMLS
Written/Reviewed by
Alexandra V Goldberg, Registered Dietitian
“High cholesterol? I’ll just eat less meat, switch to plain porridge and vegetables.”
This is a very common dietary reaction — and for some people, it does lead to an initial drop in cholesterol. But have you ever wondered: if your idea of “eating light” means lots of white rice, noodles, juice, and low-fat biscuits — the real problem might not be that you’re eating too little fat, but that you’re eating too many blood sugar-spiking carbs.
The cholesterol trap in your diet isn’t always “too much fat” — it can also be “too much sugar, too little fat.”
Modern research is increasingly clear: the total amount and quality of carbohydrates in your diet is closely tied to changes in cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, and visceral fat.
Many so-called “low-fat” diets accidentally eliminate healthy fats, but leave in large amounts of refined carbs and high-GI starches — causing cholesterol to drop in the short term, but rise again over time, and ultimately worsening metabolic health in the long run.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in a cycle of “the lighter I eat, the weirder my cholesterol gets,” this article could be the key to breaking that pattern and making targeted improvements.
Jump to section:
1｜It’s Not Just Red Meat: Debunking the Saturated Fat Myth
Did you know? 70%–80% of the cholesterol in your body isn’t from food—it’s made by your liver.
This means your blood cholesterol levels aren't just about “how much meat you ate today,” but more about your long-term eating patterns. Especially the types of carbs you consume, and whether you're eating enough healthy fats—these are the signals your liver responds to most sensitively when deciding how much cholesterol to make.
You can think of your liver as a “cholesterol factory”:
Every day, it adjusts its production based on the signals it gets from your diet—deciding whether to go into overtime or cut back.
So, what kinds of dietary signals often mislead your liver into thinking the body needs more cholesterol, raising your LDL and total cholesterol?
Signal 1: Too many carbs, especially high-glycaemic ones
If your meals always revolve around white rice, noodles, pastries, sweet snacks, or fruit juices, these high-GI foods spike your blood sugar and insulin levels repeatedly. Your liver interprets this as a sign that your energy stores are full—and speeds up cholesterol production as a result.
Signal 2: Too little healthy fat in your diet
Many people trying to eat “light” end up cutting out fats altogether. But your body needs fats to build cell membranes and hormones. Without enough dietary fats, your liver takes over—producing extra cholesterol to compensate for the shortage.
So if you're seeing higher cholesterol despite a “light” diet, don’t rush to blame red meat.
Instead, take a look at your overall diet structure:
Too many carbs, too little fat?
Cutting out oils, but forgetting to add back the good ones?
These are the real signals that can drive cholesterol overproduction.
Next, we’ll dive deeper into this crucial point: why a “light” but high-carb diet—especially with high glycaemic index foods—can quietly push your liver to make more cholesterol, raising both LDL and VLDL.
2｜How High-Carb Diets Quietly Raise Your Cholesterol
Most people think eating too much fat or fried food is what raises cholesterol. But in reality, if you eat a lot of rice, noodles, bread, pastries, or fruit juice — even with almost no oil — your LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and VLDL (very-low-density lipoprotein) can still quietly climb up.
Why? Because high-carb eating triggers a whole chain reaction that leads to more cholesterol production.
This chain reaction happens in three key steps:
Step 1｜Carbs spike your blood sugar and insulin
When you eat a bowl of white rice or a sweet dessert, your blood sugar rises quickly. In response, your body releases a lot of insulin to help move the sugar into cells.
To your body, this means: “Plenty of energy incoming!” So it prepares to store some of it for later.
Step 2｜Insulin tells your liver: “Make more fat and cholesterol”
Your liver acts like your body’s energy factory. Insulin signals it to convert the excess sugar into fats — especially VLDL (which carries triglycerides) and LDL (cholesterol).
The sugar doesn’t turn into fat directly — it tells your liver to manufacture it.
Step 3｜If your diet is also too “low-fat,” things get worse
Many people try to eat very light, avoiding oils and fats. But when your body doesn’t get enough dietary fat to build hormones and cell membranes, the liver tries to compensate by producing more cholesterol on its own.
Now you’ve got a tricky situation:
You eat mostly sugar, but your body ends up making fat and cholesterol — in excess.
That’s why many people are puzzled: “I eat light, barely any fat — why are my cholesterol numbers getting worse?”
The real issue isn’t how much fat you eat — it’s:
✔ Too much sugar,
✔ Too little fat.
The combo of high-carb + low-fat tricks your liver into overproducing fat and cholesterol.
In the next section, we’ll explore another hidden trigger: How excess visceral fat pushes your liver to pump out even more LDL and VLDL cholesterol.
3｜Visceral Fat: The Hidden Factory Behind LDL and VLDL
Many people think high cholesterol comes from eating too much fat or oil.
But in reality, the real culprit behind rising cholesterol may not be what's in your bowl—it's the fat around your organs, also known as visceral fat.
This hidden fat isn’t just quietly sitting there.
Unlike subcutaneous fat that mainly stores energy, visceral fat is metabolically active, like a “hormone factory.” It constantly releases fatty acids and sends them straight to your liver.
And here’s where the real problem begins:
Step 1｜The liver is misled: “Too much fat, must send it away!”
Your liver is actually a major cholesterol producer—about 70% of the cholesterol in your body is made by your liver.
When it keeps receiving a flood of fatty acids from visceral fat, the liver mistakenly thinks: we’ve got too much fat, let’s package and export it quickly.
Step 2｜Liver starts producing loads of VLDL “delivery trucks”
To deal with the influx of fat, the liver starts producing VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein), which carries triglycerides through your bloodstream.
But here’s the twist: VLDL doesn’t just stay as VLDL. It eventually turns into LDL—the “bad cholesterol” that your doctor warns you about.
Step 3｜You don’t eat greasy food, yet your cholesterol rises
Even if you’re not eating fatty or oily foods, your blood tests might still show high cholesterol and triglycerides.
That’s because the problem isn’t just dietary fat—it’s your body making too much of its own fat internally.
This is why people often feel confused: “I eat healthy, why is my cholesterol still high?”
The real danger isn’t the visible fat on your plate—it’s the invisible fat inside your belly.
Every day, it quietly pushes your liver to overproduce VLDL and LDL.
Important: People with a big belly but “normal weight” should watch out
This type of cholesterol issue often affects people who are not overweight by BMI but have a large waistline or belly fat.
They may look slim, but already have hidden metabolic issues like fatty liver or abnormal lipid profiles.
So don’t rely only on the number on your bathroom scale—waist size and belly shape are far more telling health signals.
4｜更聪明的策略：从脂肪代谢着手降胆固醇
如果你发现自己吃得并不油，血脂却节节上升——
或者你属于腰粗但体重正常、内脏脂肪偏高那一类人群——
那就要换一个角度思考了：
你真正需要做的，不是单纯“控脂”，而是“让脂肪动起来”。
什么意思？
想象一下，你的身体是一座仓库，肝脏是物流中心，内脏脂肪就是堆满货架的原料。
如果原料一直堆在那儿，物流中心就会以为“货很多”，赶快发货——
于是就拼命制造 VLDL 和 LDL，送出一堆“胆固醇快递”。
但如果你能启动身体的脂肪燃烧系统，让这些原料真正被利用、被“烧掉”，
那肝脏自然也就不会再误判、不会再多生产“快递”了。
这就是从脂肪代谢入手的关键逻辑。
它的三个核心步骤，其实非常简单：
1. 降低内脏脂肪的“存在感”
清晨时，身体糖原低、胰岛素敏感性高，正是启动脂肪燃烧的好时机。
用对方法，哪怕早餐前轻轻一推，也能让身体启动“用脂模式”。
推荐使用： MCT 油 + BHB酮粉
👉 延伸阅读：MCT+外源性BHB怎么启动代谢？
2. 提升线粒体活性，让脂肪“烧得更彻底”
就像炉子生火，线粒体活跃了，脂肪才能真正进入代谢通道，而不是回到肝里重新变成VLDL。
3. 阻断脂肪氧化造成的二次伤害
有些人一开始减脂，反而血脂升高，那是因为燃烧过程中产生了太多“脂肪碎片”和自由基。
推荐使用这些关键营养素帮身体“收尾”：
简单来说：
你不是油吃多了，而是脂肪卡住了。
胆固醇不是“降”出来的，而是“动”出来的。
从脂肪代谢入手，就是解决血脂问题最聪明、也最根本的办法。
