For example, butter, bacon, and other animal products are high in saturated fats. There are also some plant sources of saturated fats. These can be found in solid shortenings, coconut oil, and palm oil. Saturated fats tend to raise blood cholesterol levels. Scientists have shown that substituting polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats for some of the saturated ones tend to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol is found only in animal products.
Cholesterol is an important component of cells and the coating of nerve tissues and is needed for digestion of fats. Even sex hormones are produced from cholesterol. If we exclude all dietary sources of cholesterol, our body would still produce what it needs from other substances. Therefore, cholesterol is not essential to our dietary intake. Population studies done on male subjects over long periods of time indicate that there is a relationship between eating foods high in saturated fats and cholesterol and high levels of blood cholesterol.