Posts Tagged ‘fat’

The Tale of Fats, Cancer, and Heart Disease, Part II

About High-Cholesterol Foods

Some kinds of meat, poultry, and fish are fairly low in fat, but high in cholesterol. Fat and cholesterol are not the same thing. When it comes to heart disease, however, both saturated fat and (serum) cholesterol play a role.

Whether cholesterol in food also plays a role in causing cancer is not known. There is some evidence that a low-cholesterol diet will help to prevent cancer. But the amount of evidence is too small for making judgment.

The best course of action is to keep cholesterol intake, as well as fat intake, at a moderate level. It will help your heart and possibly help prevent other diseases, too.

Three types of food are notably high in (dietary) cholesterol:

1. Eggs (actually, the yolk only)
2. Organ meats
3. Shrimp

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Fats: What You Should Know about It

Food Fats

Food fats or dietary fats are white or yellowish greasy material, found in both animals and plants. Pure fat lacks color, odor, and taste, and it exists both as a liquid and as a solid.

During digestion, fat is broken down in the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine, just past the stomach) to fatty acids and glycerol. As a food, its primary value and importance are as a fuel – a source of body energy. It is the most concentrated food we have, and it possesses more than twice the caloric value of carbohydrates or protein. Every ounce of fat has the same value as every other – whether it is an ounce of butter or an ounce of cottonseed oil. One type of fat, however, may be more easily assimilated, or absorbed, thus more accessible, than another. In  northern America, the fats eaten most often are in the form of eggs, margarine, butter, meat, cream, nuts, and such oils as olive oil and vegetable oil.

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