In short – yes, eating patterns high in saturated fat can raise cholesterol and increase risk of heart disease. This is especially important for people with diabetes, as they have a higher chance of developing heart disease. Australian Dietary Guidelines suggest switching foods high in saturated fat intake (i.e., butter, creams, coconut oil) with foods high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (e.g., canola oil, spreads, nuts). Simple swaps like these can make a positive difference on cholesterol levels now, without needing to cut favourite foods out completely.
Here are our top tips and NMNT inspiration for eating less saturated fat:
- Packaged snack, convenience and takeaway foods can be high in saturated fat and get in the way of you achieving your health goals. Where you can switch these for your favourite NMNT Fakeaway meal or NMNT healthy snack.
- Compare the ingredients list on packaged foods. Choose those where ‘hydrogenated oils’ or ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oils’ do not appear in the ingredients list as these are trans-fat (a type of saturated fat that is very good at raising cholesterol).
- Trim all the fat that you can see from meat and remove skin from chicken. Where you can swap processed meat (e.g., sausages and salami) for fresh meat (e.g., roast chicken), fish or swap out some meat for beans, legumes, roasted or grilled veggies.
- Choose unflavoured milk, yoghurt and cheese. If you have high cholesterol or heart disease choose reduced-fat varieties.
- Half of the fat in butter is saturated fat. Swap butter for a margarine spread made from canola, sunflower, olive or dairy blends. If you don’t like margarine, nut butters, avocado or tahini are great options for a spread.
- Swap out some red meat meals for fish 2–3 times a week and choose legume or bean-based meals twice a week. Check out these easy, low cost fish meals and tips for eating more legumes
For more info on saturated fats check this out: https://theconversation.com/health-check-are-saturated-fats-good-or-bad-21524.
