Fat and Cholesterol

Fats provide the body’s most concentrated source of energy. They also supply essential fatty acids required for good health and enable you to absorb certain vitamins (A, D, E, and K). However, most of us tend to consume too much fat since it can be found in many foods. “Visible” fats account for half of all the fats we eat, such as butter, cream, oil and salad dressings. The rest we cannot see—the fat in a well-marbled meat, eggs, liver, coconut, milk, luncheon meat and cheese. These “invisible” fats are also found in our favorite goodies, such as ice cream, cookies, pastries and crackers. There are three basic types of fats: Monounsaturated fats, saturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats have little effect on blood cholesterol levels. They neither increase or decrease it. Olive and peanut oils are high in monounsaturated fats. Saturated fats are usually fats of animal origin and are solid at room temperature. These fats may tend to increase blood cholesterol levels. Fats in meat and dairy fats are highly saturated. A few vegetable sources such as coconut and coconut oil, palm oil and cocoa butter (found in chocolate) contain high amounts of saturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats are usually fats of plant origin and are liquid at room temperature. These fats help decrease the cholesterol level in your blood. Vegetable oils vary in the degree of unsaturation, with safflower oil being the highest in polyunsaturates. Other polyunsaturated vegetable oils are sunflower, corn, cottonseed, soy and sesame seed. Remember, not all vegetable oils are high in polyunsaturated fats: for example, olive, peanut, coconut and palm oils are not. Hydrogenated fats are liquid oils which have been chemically changed into more saturated solid fats, such as shortening or some margarines.