Bottom Line : Fat
One of the quickest and healthiest ways to reduce calories and lose weight is to cut back on the fat.
Eating a diet low in fat is an important step in keeping your heart and arteries in tip-top shape too. The overall goal is to avoid excess fat, especially saturated fat and LDL cholesterol.
But this isn’t enough of a change to create a healthy lifestyle or maintain optimal nutrition.
- Limit your intake of total fat to <30% of your total calories each day. This is about 45-65 grams each day.
- Limit your intake of saturated fat to <10% of your calories each day. This is about 15-25 grams each day.
- Limit your intake of cholesterol to <300 milligrams each day.
Remember that all fats and oils are not created equal; however all fats and oils are still high in calories. Things to keep in mind:
- Monounsaturated fats help to lower the LDL (lazy/bad cholesterol) while NOT lowering the HDL (healthy/good cholesterol). These fats are the most heart friendly.
- Polyunsaturated fats help lower the LDL (lazy/bad cholesterol) but they also lower the HDL (healthy/good cholesterol). So they are only somewhat heart healthy.
- Saturated fats raise the LDL (lazy/bad cholesterol) and increase the risk of heart disease. Therefore, they are not heart healthy.
- Trans-fatty acids can raise the LDL (lazy/bad cholesterol) and triglycerides levels, and lower the HDL (healthy/good cholesterol). They are not heart healthy.
