Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

We really cannot get as much as meat eaters since on average plants have 1/100 of the cholesterol found in red meat. We know that red meat has BAD cholesterol, but even bad cholesterol has an effect on increasing testosterone. If you take a good look at the molecule structure, they are VERY similar and this explains why both types of cholesterol (hdl and ldl) are readily converted to testosterone compared to most other natural molecules.So in a nutshell...

What are the best sources of cholesterol in a vegan diet?

Dude, there are none. You can only ingest dietary cholesterol from animal sources. Dietary cholesterol is one of the main reasons for going vegan! It has a direct correlation to cancer. And im pretty sure it doesnt boost test very much. We make enough cholesterol in our bodies.

Best source is eating other Vegans

Fair enough... I guess I have no choice in the matter. But I would like to point out that there is good and bad cholesterol, and plants do actually have trace cholesterol compounds. Also we do not have a clue how much adding a plant based cholesterol would increase testosterone, just saying. But as there are no real sources, I will digress and settle for the health benefits!

from my vague understanding, testosterone is synthesized in our bodies from fats and oils, not sure about cholesterol
that could be complete bogus but eat a handfull of nuts a day

I'm sure the body makes its own HDL cholesterol; you are not supposed to eat it but foods that can be used to synthesise it.

+1

There are plenty of ways to increase your HDL, but ingesting more cholesterol isn't one of them. That's just silly. Eat more monounsaturated fats and fiber, and keep your omega-3 ratios favorable. Do aerobic exercise. Stop drinking and smoking. Avoid trans fats.

Really? I did not know that ingested cholesterol could not be modified to become hdl or ldl. I figured the body may have some way to convert it, given the molecular similarity. They are very very close, and so that is surprising, but not unbelievable by any means!

Oh, the body can modify (and use) ingested cholesterol, sure, but the effect is small compared to that of trans and saturated fats. Some studies show no effect whatsoever from ingested cholesterol, and I'm not aware of any showing an increase in HDL without a corresponding increase in LDL. Regardless, most of your HDL is going to be produced by your liver anyway based on the factors I listed earlier.

There is one source of cholesterol for vegans! It looks like oysters, of all things, are actually vegan. They do not feel pain, they do not have a brain and so that technically makes them okay. They also have a vitamins minerals. 6 medium oysters have 67% of your vitamin D 272% of your b12, 31% iron 509% zinc (holy crap) and 76% selenium based on a 2000 calorie diet. This is a super food for vegans, considering how difficult it is to get some of these nutrients in general. They have 54 mg of cholesterol per 100 grams. Still not as much as beef but that is definitely a lot more than nothing!

BTW I realize there is a very heated debate within the vegan community about whether or not oysters should be considered vegan, so this certainly wouldn't work for everyone.

HDL and LDL isn't cholesterol though; they are lipoproteins.

To raise cholesterol a person must raise their Vitamin A or Omega 6 fatty acids from whole foods with physical activity. Retinoic Acid(Vitamin A metabolite) or prostaglandins(made from an Omega 6) will be produced in higher amounts during physical activity; and these compounds will upregulate the production of androgen hormones and a lot of other beneficial growth factors.

If you're a male, try consuming non-rancid walnuts and let us know if you experience a morning erection. This is enough of an indication that you're producing cholesterol while you're sleeping.

You may be fine eating them but they are still fall in the animal kingdom and be default aren't vegan.

Cholesterol is not found in vegen diet, it has to come from no-vegan sources.
However there are some vegetables that contain fat such as polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat which affect cholesterol level.