While fat has gotten a bad name in the dietary world, not all fat should be avoided at all cost — quite the opposite. Health & Wellbeing weighs up the different fats in your diet and their affect on cholesterol.
Saturated fat in the food you eat makes your blood cholesterol level go up. While saturated fat is the main culprit, dietary cholesterol in food also matters if you have high blood cholesterol. Reducing saturated fats in your diet and replacing them with foods high in polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats is the key.
And it's easier than you'd think, according to both the Heart Foundation and Nutrition Australia. Commercial frying oils rich in mono and poly fats are becoming more widely available in Australia. According to Nutrition Australia, these result in takeaway foods becoming lower in saturated fat.
Sats, polys, monos & trans fats defined
The cholesterol story is really all about fat. Fats in food are a mixture of three different types: saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. One thing you'll have noticed when you read about cholesterol is that there are a lot of long words to get your head around. To make it easier to distinguish between these fat categories, think of them as "sats", "polys" and "monos". And watch out for those "sats"!
Saturated fats
Two key factors that lead to increased "bad" LDL cholesterol in blood are genetic inheritance and eating too much saturated fat. Foods high in saturated fats are butter, cooking margarine, lard, meat fat, poultry skin, full-fat dairy products (for example, full-fat cheese, cream, ice-cream, yogurt and milk), fatty meats (for example, salami) and two vegetable oils — coconut and palm oil.
Saturated fats are also found in most bought biscuits, cakes, pies, pastries, snack foods (for example, potato or corn crisps), fried takeaway foods and foods cooked in coconut oil or palm oil.
Polyunsaturated fats
These help lower blood cholesterol if your diet is low in saturated fat. Some oils and margarine spreads, nuts, seeds and fish contain polyunsaturated fats. But like all fats, these are high in kilojoules (calories) so eat these foods moderately.
Many poly fats are believed to have cholesterol-lowering properties, especially those rich in Omega-6 fatty acids (safflower, sunflower, soybean and cottonseed oils). The other major poly fats, the Omega-3 series (in fish, canola, linseed and walnut oils) are believed to help reduce the risk of heart disease, but by other means than lowering cholesterol.
Monounsaturated fats
These, too, can help lower blood cholesterol if your diet is low in saturated fats. Some oils and margarine spreads, avocado, nuts and seeds contain monounsaturated flats. As with all fats, these are high in kilojoules, too.
Trans fats
These are an artificial byproduct of the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. This process was developed as a cheap way to keep foods such as pies, pastry, biscuits and donuts crispy or flakey. Trans fats occur naturally in beef, but most in the Western world come from pre-prepared and highly processed foods.
Unlike other kinds of fats, trans fats are not needed for health or considered beneficial. Eating them increases the risk of coronary disease, and raises bad cholesterol and lowers the good. However, the level of trans fats in the Australian diet is estimated to be low.
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