| Are all Fats Bad for Cholesterol? |
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Amidst all the foods that have been under the scanner to influence cholesterols, fat are the most common. While fats are believed to increase cholesterol, this may not be true all the time. Not all fats are bad. There are some fats that can increase your cholesterol and there are some that can keep it in check too. To know whether the fat you are consuming is good or bad, it is important that you know the kinds of fats first. Kinds of fat Fats can be primarily divided into two categories: saturated and unsaturated. While the former is considered to be unhealthy for cholesterol, unsaturated is known to be a healthier option. The unsaturated fat category can gain be divided into polysaturated and monosaturated fats. Both of these fats are considered to be healthier options. Saturated fat Saturated fat is considered unhealthy as it is known for increasing cholesterol. These fats are known to cause maximum effect (negative) to your cholesterol as compared to anything else. Considering the harmful effects of this kind of fat, only a 7% of saturated fat should fo0rm our regular diet intake. Other than animal sources foods like sweets, candy bars and commercially prepared pastries also have high saturated fat content. These foods usually contain coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm kernel oil, or palm oil, all of which are laden with saturated fat. Unsaturated fat Eating unsaturated fat in now ay shifts your cholesterol to the upper level. Instead if you opt for a diet that comprises of unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats you could actually reduce your cholesterol. Unsaturated fats can be divided into polysaturated fats and monosaturated fats. Both monosaturated fats and polysaturated fats include vegetable oils. Monosaturated fats include vegetable oils such as olive oil, peanut oil and canola oil. On the other hand polysaturated fats include vegetable oils like safflower oil, sunflower oil along with certain kind of fish oils. Total fat Fat is fat, whether saturated or unsaturated and it does play a vital role in increasing your weight. Fats are dense and this is why every gram of fat contains nine calories. On the other hand the same amount of proteins or carbohydrates contains 4 calories. So try to avoid fats to the maximum possible and make sure that they make up only for 25% to 35% of your total calories. Related Articles |