The Skinny on Dietary Fats

• Canola oil


• Olive oil


• Peanut oil

Polyunsaturated fatty acids also help to reduce total cholesterol levels; however, they also lower your “healthy cholesterol” levels. The AHA recommends that we get no more than 10 percent of our total daily calories from polyunsaturated fats. This type of fat is found in nuts and vegetable oils. Sources of polyunsaturated fats include:

• Corn oil


• Cottonseed oil


• Safflower oil


• Sesame oil


• Soybean oil


• Sunflower oil

Trans Fats

Trans fat is not a naturally occurring substance. It is created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, which is a liquid, to create a solid substance. Once considered to be a healthy substitute for saturated fat, recent research has proven quite the opposite to be true. Trans fat has been found to raise cholesterol levels, and has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease. It can be found in foods such as vegetable shortening, some margarines, crackers, candies, baked goods, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, salad dressings and many processed foods. To determine whether a food item you are eating contains trans fat look for the following ingredients on the food label:

• Shortening


• Hydrogenated vegetable oil


• Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil