All you need to know about FAT.

You may be under the impression that less fat is always better. However a low-fat diet may have health risks, such as depression, increased cancer risk, and higher cholesterol leading to heart disease. Fat is essential for a healthy body.

How do you know which fats are healthy and which raise the bad cholesterol?

I found this article on sparkpeople that breaks it down simple for us non-medical/non-dietitian people.

These heart-healthy fats are part of a cholesterol-lowering diet:

• Monounsaturated Fats are the healthiest fats. They decrease your total blood cholesterol but maintain your HDL (good) cholesterol. Ideally, most of the fat in your diet should come from this group, which includes: nuts, avocadoes, canola oil, natural peanut butter, olive oil, olives, peanut oil, pistachios, sesame oil, sesame seeds.
  
  
• Polyunsaturated Fats are somewhat healthy fats that decrease your total blood cholesterol by lowering both the LDL (bad) cholesterol and the HDL (good) cholesterol. Lowering your total cholesterol is great, but because these fats also lower your HDL (good) cholesterol, you should only enjoy them in moderation. You'll find polyunsaturated fats in corn oil, mayonnaise, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
  
  A special group of polyunsaturated fats is called Omega-3 fatty acids. These are heart-healthy and can be found in high-fat fish (albacore tuna, mackerel and salmon), other seafood (herring, lake trout, oysters, sardines, shellfish and shrimp), and plant sources (flaxseed and walnuts).
  
  

To lower your cholesterol, avoid these unhealthy fats:

• Saturated fat is unhealthy fat that increases both your total cholesterol and your LDL (bad) cholesterol. Some experts say that limiting your saturated fat intake is one of the most important cholesterol-lowering tips you can follow. Try to limit or avoid these sources of saturated fat: bacon, bacon grease, beef, butter, cheese, cocoa butter, coconut, coconut milk, coconut oil, cream, cream cheese, ice cream, lard, palm kernel oil, palm oil, pork, poultry, sour cream, and whole milk. (I buy only low-fat or fat-free products of all the items in this category.)

• Trans Fat is the unhealthiest fat you can eat! It increases your total cholesterol and your LDL (bad) cholesterol while lowering your HDL (good) cholesterol. Even eating a small amount of trans fats significantly increases your risk of heart disease—especially if you already have risk factors like high cholesterol. Experts haven't established any level of trans fats as safe, so keep you intake near 0 grams. Food products that contain trans fat include vegetable shortenings, hard stick margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, doughnuts, pastries, baking mixes and icings, store-bought baked goods, and more. (But we all knew this stuff is bad for us, right?)

So I use all fat-free dairy products and low-fat meat. I add avocado to my sandwiches and reach for almonds or peanut butter for a snack. A word of caution: do not sit in front of the TV with a jar of peanut butter and celery sticks. Nuts add a lot of calories. 2 Tbs of peanut butter is almost 200 calories! Moderation.

And cheese is another dangerous one. My husband thinks the more cheese the better...in fact most of Americans think that way. Less is more when it comes to cheese. Learn portion sizes and stick to it.

P.S. I made the BEST coffee cake today! And did I mention it was heart-healthy? Keep following I'll post recipes soon.