Health

What type of fats to eat for cholesterol-lowering diets

Excessive intake of fat is thought to increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Fat is an essential dietary component, providing essential fatty acids that the body cannot produce but many people consume too much fat. Most experts recommend that fat intake should account for no more than 10-30% of our total calories.

Fats can be divided into two main categories saturated and unsaturated fats. The saturated fats, primarily found in foods of animal origin, tend to raise blood cholesterol and clog arteries more than unsaturated fats. It is recommended that saturated fat intake be kept at 10% or less of total calories to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Unsaturated fats can be further divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. When monounsaturated fats replace saturated fats, the total blood cholesterol tends to fall. In addition, it lowers the bad type of cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins or LDL) while leaving the good type of cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins or HDL) alone. Many authorities recommend that about 10% of calories should come from monounsaturated fats and 10% of the calories should come from polyunsaturated fats. Recent studies have shown that diets rich in one type of polyunsaturated fats, called omega 3 fatty acids, are associated with a lower incidence of coronary disease. Fatty fish and shellfish are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Safflower oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil and margarine are high in polyunsaturated fats. For monounsaturated fats, choose olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, nuts, peanut butter and avocado.

source www.nutrilite.com