It has been believed for a long while now that saturated fats substituted with unsaturated fats actually helps in lowering down the cholesterol levels.
The dietitian recommends that as much as possible, the saturated fats should be substituted with unsaturated fats, if it is really needed for one to consume fat.
Mainly found in most salad dresses but also in corn, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, sesame oils and safflower, polyunsaturated fats are sometimes converted in to saturated fats by the process of hydrogenation.
Because of this, commercially prepared salad dressings could be high in saturated fats so be very careful with them, and read the label before you buy any.
Shellfish and fish present another type of polyunsaturated fat.
They are also known as fish oils or omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids have shown to be very useful at reducing LDL cholesterol levels, even if by just a little.
Monounsaturated fats are especially found in canola or olive oils.
Used for cooking, they are really generally used for salad dressings.
Recent studies have shown that substituting saturated fats with monounsaturated fats has a very serious impact on the blood cholesterol levels, helping them to lower fast enough.
High cholesterol foods are a no-no Found in animal origin foods, as you might have figured by now, the cholesterol or dietary fat is a fat-like waxy substance.
However, remember, it is not the same thing as saturated fat, even though it can raise blood cholesterol levels.
Hence, it is recommended that you lower down the food intake which is high in cholesterol.
For normal functioning, the body has its own cholesterol producer - the liver.
Dietary cholesterol Shellfish and fish, meat, poultry, dairy products and eggs - and such other foods have cholesterol.
Also, rich sources of cholesterol are organ meats and egg yolks.
Similar amounts of cholesterol are found in high-fat dairy products, poultry and meat.
Generally, plant-origin foods do not contain cholesterol, so they're safer to eat if you are aiming for a low cholesterol diet.
Foods like fruits, cereal nuts, grains and seeds are actually recommended in a low-cholesterol diet.
The substitute for saturated fats Ok, we discussed what are the high cholesterol foods, which are the products that contain the higher concentration of dietary cholesterol, but which are really the substitutes for saturated fats? First, you may aim for foods that are good sources of complex carbohydrates (i.
e.
fiber and starch) like pasta, cereals, rice, beans and dried peas.
Barley bran, apples, oranges and some dried beans could also help in reducing total blood cholesterol levels.