Healthy Eating with Less Fat

This page was reviewed or revised on Friday, August 14, 2009.

How to take the confusion out of cholesterol
and enjoy eating for the health of it.

People are avoiding cholesterol like the plague. We try to cut down on eggs. But what about the cholesterol-free products you see? Are they healthy choices? Not always.

Some foods marked "cholesterol-free" never had any cholesterol in them in the first place. Why put "cholesterol-free" on the label? It sells the product, since people are very concerned about cholesterol and its link to heart disease.

What you eat can affect your chances of developing heart disease or cancer. How active you are or your family history can also put you at risk. So take heart; although you can't change who your parents are, you can make healthy food choices.

What's a Good Choice?

Even though you hear a lot of talk about cholesterol, for most people fat is the bigger problem. You need to eat some fat. But, eating too much fat can increase your blood cholesterol. Having high blood cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease. So, instead of worrying about how much cholesterol you eat, eat less fat and you'll be decreasing your risk of heart disease and some cancers as well.

Be Supermarket Smart

It can be tricky to make healthy choices in the grocery store because a lot of products are "labeled to confuse". The key thing to look for then, when you shop, is NOT "cholesterol-free" foods but foods which are lower in fat. If you take a look at the label of these "no cholesterol" potato chips, you will see why.

A 28 gram serving is just half a bag of potato chips (a 55g bag). Chances are, you probably eat more than a handful of chips at any one time. Which means of course you are also eating more fat. No cholesterol but plenty of fat.

How Much Less?

The average adult eats about 20 more grams of fat a day than he or she needs. Most of the fat we eat comes from dairy products and fats or oils. These are then good places to look for the 20 grams you want to cut. Here's some ideas to get you started...

Fat-Fighting Ideas

• For every teaspoon of butter, margarine and oil you cut out, you save 4 grams of fat.
• Buy a good nonstick skillet so that you can start foods off with very little or no fat at all. Add a little water if items start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Check out the cheese counter for lower-fat cheeses, containing 15-20% or less butterfat.
• If you eat four slices of toast daily and butter each slice, you can save more than 11 grams of fat by taking away the butter. Try using only jam or mustard.
• You drink 3 cups of coffee each day with a creamer in each. Switch to 2% milk and save yourself 5 grams of fat.
• Steer clear of high-fat salad dressings. Switch to fat-free salad dressing and save yourself 12 grams of fat for a 2 tablespoon portion.

Be Restaurant Heart Smart

• When you go out for an ice-cold treat, choose a fruity sherbert or frozen yogurt instead of ice cream and save yourself at least 12 grams of fat, maybe more.
• Switch to 1% from whole milk to save 12 grams of fat daily. Switching to skim from 2% will save you 10 grams of fat.
• Instead of eating a 6 oz. strip loin steak, broiled, eat the recommended 3-4 oz. serving, which is about the size of the palm of your hand and save about 8 grams of fat.
• Instead of a salami sandwich for lunch, have a sliced turkey sandwich and save about 10 grams of fat.
• When it comes to nibbling, stick to pretzels and homemade popcorn that isn't dripping in fat.

Additional Information

• Go on a Supermarket Smart Nutrition Tour to learn how to read the fine print and not be mislead by the bold print. Call the Community Health Services to register.

• Sign up for a Hands-on Heart Healthy Cooking Course. Learn how to make easy, delicious, low-fat meals. Call the Community Health Services to register.

• Call a dietitian or nutritionist at the Community Health Services or your local hospital. For information about a specific product call the company that manufactures it and ask for the nutrition personnel.

• Contact the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario at (519) 332-1415.