CholesterolNutrition library
Cholesterol
Dietary cholesterol, found only in animal foods, egg yolk, offal, shellfish, meat and full-fat dairy. Not a scored nutrient here: the body makes most of its own, and the evidence no longer supports a fixed daily limit in pregnancy. Shown so you can see it, not so you can chase a number.
Trimester focus
| Stage | For the mother | For the baby |
|---|---|---|
| First trimester | No target to hit or avoid. Cholesterol-rich foods like eggs and liver happen to be among the densest sources of choline and B12, which do matter now. | Cholesterol is essential to early cell membranes and hormone synthesis, and the baby largely makes its own. |
| Second trimester | Blood cholesterol rises through pregnancy by design, that is placental hormone production, not a dietary failure. | Supports the steroid hormones that drive growth through the second trimester. |
| Third trimester | Still no intake target. Judge the foods carrying it on their own merits, yolks and oily fish for choline and DHA, offal for iron and B12 with the retinol caution. | Rapid brain growth draws on cholesterol, most of it synthesised rather than supplied. |
Target note
Display-only. Recorded because USDA reports it on 1,893 catalog foods and the build was discarding every value. There is no pregnancy DRI or upper limit to score against, so none is implied.