Doctors divide the blood fats known as cholesterol into two categories High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is called “good” cholesterol, because having more of it is good news for your heart health. HDL’s evil twin is low-density lipoprotein (LDL). It’s called “bad” cholesterol, because having too much of it can damage your cardiovascular system and lead to a heart attack or a stroke.
Learn more about cholesterol screening.
High levels of LDL can result in a hard deposit in the arteries called plaque. Buildup of plaque deposits leads to a dangerous condition called atherosclerosis, in which the arteries are narrowed and less flexible. Naturally, you’ll want to know where this bad stuff comes from and what you can do to accumulate less of it in your bloodstream.
Here’s what the American Heart Association advises¹:
- Limit your total fat consumption from food sources to 25 to 35 percent of the total calories you take in per day.³
- Keep your intake of trans fats to less than 1 percent of daily calories. Trans fats (also known as trans fatty acids) appear in meat, dairy products, and snack foods. (Look for the term "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" in the ingredients list.)
- Limit your consumption of saturated fat to less than 7 percent of daily calories.³ Saturated fats come from meats and dairy products such as whole milk and cheese. They are also found in tropical oils, coconut, and cocoa butter.³
- Cut back on commercially prepared fast food, snack foods, and fried foods, which tend to be brimming with saturated fat and trans fat. Examples include doughnuts, cookies, and French fries.³
- Follow a low-fat, fiber-rich diet by emphasizing such foods as whole grains, fresh fruit, vegetables, and fish.
- Favor monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, found in nuts, seeds, canola oil, olive oil, and fish.
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