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When it comes to fat in food, you get to make some choices. That means you’ll have to read the labels, because depending on which way you go, you could be hurting yourself, or alternatively maybe helping yourself.
Even if you choose the right path – which is to stick with those fats that are known as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated – food isn’t entirely responsible for your cholesterol levels.
Your body produces about 75 percent of the cholesterol all by itself, mostly in your liver and other cells. So that leaves 25 percent that comes from your food, which is to say you can control about a quarter of it depending on what you eat.
All of this really matters to keep your heart and arterial system healthy.
The worst culprits when it comes to fat are saturated fat, and trans fat. Here’s the story with each of them:
- Saturated fat comes from animals and a few plants. Beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, butter, and dairy products made from whole or 2 percent milk. You can also find it in coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and cocoa butter.
- Some believe that as bad as saturated fat is, trans fat is worse. You see it in foods where hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, to make a product that is called hydrogenated. Manufacturers like adding it because food with it has a longer shelf life, and feels less greasy. Look for it in supermarket products like crackers, cookies and cake, not to mention doughnuts and French fries. The reason some believe trans fat to be the worst for you is that it raises your LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and lowers your HDL cholesterol (the good kind.)
Bottom line for both fats: raising your LDL levels, and shrinking your HDL, can lead to heart disease. And that is the leading killer of both men and women.
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