Nutrient glossary
What is cholesterol (dietary)?
Dietary cholesterol is the cholesterol in food itself, which moves blood cholesterol far less than saturated fat does.
Reviewed 20 July 2026. General information, not medical advice.
The short version
Cholesterol in food, egg yolks, shellfish, liver, is a different thing from cholesterol in your blood. For most people the liver simply makes less when the diet provides more, so saturated and trans fat move blood cholesterol far more than dietary cholesterol does.
It is tracked as reference information against the conventional 300 mg figure, not treated as a gap or a fault.
Daily reference (context, not a goal)
300 mg a day
This is the fixed adult reference used across these pages. In the app, your amount adjusts to your body and way of eating.
Where cholesterol (dietary) concentrates
| Food | Per serving | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 372 mg | 372 mg |
| Egg Yolk | 367 mg | 1,080 mg |
| Beef Liver | 337 mg | 396 mg |
| Duck Breast | 200 mg | 143 mg |
| Squid (Calamari) | 198 mg | 233 mg |
| Shrimp / Prawns | 189 mg | 189 mg |
| Lobster | 146 mg | 146 mg |
| Chicken Breast | 145 mg | 85 mg |
Shown for awareness: the reference for cholesterol (dietary) is a stay-under or context amount, so this table is about knowing where it lives, not chasing more of it.
Common questions
- Are eggs bad for cholesterol?
- For most people, no. Current evidence finds eggs have little effect on blood cholesterol compared with saturated fat intake.
- Why does Nutrigate show cholesterol at all?
- Some people track it on medical advice, so the app displays it against the conventional 300 mg reference without ever flagging it as a gap.