Fats and Cholesterol (2024)

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References Terms of Use FAQs

When it comes to dietary fat, what matters most is the type of fat you eat. Contrary to past dietary advice promoting low-fat diets, newer research shows that healthy fats are necessary and beneficial for health.

  • When food manufacturers reduce fat, they often replace it with carbohydrates from sugar, refined grains, or other starches. Our bodies digest these refined carbohydrates and starches very quickly, affecting blood sugar and insulin levels and possibly resulting in weight gain and disease. (1-3)
  • Findings from the Nurses’ Health Study (4) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (5) show that no link between the overall percentage of calories from fat and any important health outcome, including cancer, heart disease, and weight gain.

Rather than adopting a low-fat diet, it’s more important to focus on eating beneficial “good” fats and avoiding harmful “bad” fats. Fat is an important part of a healthy diet. Choose foods with “good” unsaturated fats, limit foods high in saturated fat, and avoid “bad” trans fat.

  • “Good” unsaturated fats — Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — lower disease risk. Foods high in good fats include vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish.
  • “Bad” fats — trans fats — increase disease risk, even when eaten in small quantities. Foods containing trans fats are primarily in processed foods made with trans fat from partially hydrogenated oil. Fortunately, trans fats have been eliminated from many of these foods.
  • Saturated fats, while not as harmful as trans fats, by comparison with unsaturated fats negatively impact health and are best consumed in moderation. Foods containing large amounts of saturated fat include red meat, butter, cheese, and ice cream.Some plant-based fats like coconut oil and palm oil are also rich in saturated fat.
  • When you cut back on foods like red meat and butter, replace them with fish, beans, nuts, and healthy oils instead of refined carbohydrates.

Read more about healthy fats in this “Ask the Expert” with HSPH’s Dr. Walter Willett and Amy Myrdal Miller, M.S., R.D., formerly of The Culinary Institute of America

References


1. Siri-Tarino, P.W., et al., Saturated fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease: modulation by replacement nutrients. Curr Atheroscler Rep, 2010. 12(6): p. 384-90.

2. Hu, F.B., Are refined carbohydrates worse than saturated fat? Am J Clin Nutr, 2010. 91(6): p. 1541-2.

3. Jakobsen, M.U., et al., Intake of carbohydrates compared with intake of saturated fatty acids and risk of myocardial infarction: importance of the glycemic index. Am J Clin Nutr, 2010. 91(6): p. 1764-8.

4. Hu, F.B., et al., Dietary fat intake and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med, 1997. 337(21): p. 1491-9.

5. Ascherio, A., et al., Dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease in men: cohort follow up study in the United States. BMJ, 1996. 313(7049): p. 84-90.

6. Hu, F.B., J.E. Manson, and W.C. Willett, Types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a critical review. J Am Coll Nutr, 2001. 20(1): p. 5-19.

Terms of Use

The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The Nutrition Source does not recommend or endorse any products.

Fats and Cholesterol (2024)

FAQs

What can I drink to flush out my cholesterol? ›

Cholesterol is often high due to excessive saturated and trans fat consumption. There are certain drinks that can help maintain an ideal cholesterol level. Some of the best drinks for cholesterol management include green tea, pomegranate juice, citrus juice, soy milk, plant-based smoothies, and red wine.

How to cut down on intake of saturated fats and cholesterol? ›

Cooking Tips
  1. Avoid deep fried foods.
  2. Trim visible fat off meats and remove skin from poultry before cooking.
  3. Bake, broil, boil, poach or roast poultry, fish and lean meats.
  4. Drain and discard fat that drains out of meat as you cook it.
  5. Add little or no fat to foods.

What happens if you don't get enough fats and lipids? ›

If you don't get enough fat in your diet, you may notice symptoms such as dry rashes, hair loss, a weaker immune system, and issues related to vitamin deficiencies. To help maintain good health, most of the fats you eat should be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

What is the golden drink that lowers cholesterol? ›

Golden milk, also known as turmeric milk, is a common Indian drink that has recently been gaining popularity in western cultures due to many health claims. It's beautiful bright yellow color is a result of adding turmeric, along with spices such as cinnamon and ginger, to milk.

What are the six super foods that lower cholesterol? ›

Add these foods to lower LDL cholesterol
  • Oats. ...
  • Barley and other whole grains. ...
  • Beans. ...
  • Eggplant and okra. ...
  • Nuts. ...
  • Vegetable oils. ...
  • Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits. ...
  • Foods fortified with sterols and stanols.
Mar 26, 2024

What is the number one food to lower cholesterol? ›

Oatmeal, oat bran and high-fiber foods

Oatmeal has soluble fiber, which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol. Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, Brussels sprouts, apples and pears.

Are bananas good for cholesterol? ›

However, cholesterol can be bad if too much comes from foods high in saturated fat. This is why it is important to eat foods to help lower your cholesterol, such as those high in soluble fiber. Fruits like avocados and apples, and citrus fruits like oranges and bananas are foods that can help lower cholesterol.

Are eggs bad for cholesterol? ›

Answer From Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D. Chicken eggs are an affordable source of protein and other nutrients. They're also naturally high in cholesterol. But the cholesterol in eggs doesn't seem to raise cholesterol levels the way some other foods, such as those high in trans fats and saturated fats, do.

How do you flush saturated fat out of your body? ›

Abstract
  1. Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day. ...
  2. Avoid eating saturated and trans fats, suggests the University of Maryland Medical Center.
  3. Include a milk thistle supplement in your daily diet.
  4. Eat oranges or other citrus fruits regularly. High in vitamin C, oranges give the body a metabolic boost.

What cancels out saturated fat? ›

How can I cut down on saturated fats? replace them with healthier unsaturated fats. Studies show that swapping saturated fats for unsaturated fats may have health benefits. It can help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol in the blood.

What is worse for cholesterol, sugar or fat? ›

While it's common knowledge that saturated fats can raise your cholesterol, there can be another culprit: A diet high in sugary foods. From sweetened coffee every morning to a can of soda to go along with your evening meal, the added sugars in your daily diet may take a toll on your cholesterol over time.

What are the healthiest fats to eat? ›

Choose foods with “good” unsaturated fats, limit foods high in saturated fat, and avoid “bad” trans fat. “Good” unsaturated fats — Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — lower disease risk. Foods high in good fats include vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish.

What if I don't eat enough fat? ›

The human body can make most fats with the exception of omega-3 and omega-6. If you don't get enough of these fats in your diet, the most likely symptoms are those of essential fatty acid deficiency including: Dry, scaly, flaky, dull, or bumpy skin. Dry, brittle, or lackluster hairs.

Can you live without eating lipids? ›

Without fats and related molecules (known collectively as lipids) your body would quite literally fall apart, because there would be no cell membranes to hold it together.

What is the #1 best drink to lower cholesterol? ›

Best drinks to improve cholesterol
  1. Green tea. Green tea contains catechins and other antioxidant compounds that seem to help lower LDL and total cholesterol levels. ...
  2. Soy drinks. Soy is low in saturated fat. ...
  3. Oat drinks. ...
  4. Tomato juice. ...
  5. Berry smoothies. ...
  6. Drinks containing sterols and stanols. ...
  7. Cocoa drinks. ...
  8. Plant milk smoothies.
Oct 27, 2023

What removes cholesterol fast? ›

Healthy fats, Omega-3 rich foods, soluble fiber, exercise, weight loss, and quitting smoking can all help lower cholesterol levels.

What dissolves cholesterol in the body? ›

Cyclodextrin is known to solubilize cholesterol and is being used in a clinical trial for the treatment of patients with Niemann–Pick type C (NPC) disease, a rare genetic disorder in which cholesterol cannot be transported from lysosomes.

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