Fat: the facts

We all need some fat in our diet. But eating too much fat makes us more likely to become overweight. What’s more, too much of a particular kind of fat – saturated fat – can raise our cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. That’s why it’s important to cut down on fat, and choose foods that contain unsaturated fat.

Eating too much fat can make us more likely to put on weight, because foods that are high in fat are also high in energy (calories). Being overweight raises our risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

But this doesn’t mean that all fat is bad. We need some fat in our diet because it helps the body absorb certain nutrients. Fat is a source of energy, and provides essential fatty acids that the body can’t make itself.

For most of us, it’s good to cut the total amount of fat in our diet. But we also need to think about the type of fat we're eating.

Eat less fat

These tips can help you cut the total amount of fat in your diet:

When shopping, compare nutrition labels so you can pick foods lower in fat. Use the per serving or per 100g information to compare different foods. Remember, servings may vary, so read the label carefully.
Ask your butcher for lean cuts of meat, or compare nutrition labels on meat packaging.
Choose lower-fat dairy products, such as 1% fat milk, lower fat cheese.
Grill, bake, poach or steam food rather than frying or roasting, so that you won't need to add any extra fat.
Measure oil with tablespoons rather than pouring it straight from a container: this will help you use less.
Trim visible fat and take skin off meat before cooking. Use the grill instead of the frying pan, whatever meat you’re cooking.
Put more vegetables or beans in casseroles, stews and curries, and a bit less meat. And skim the fat off the top before serving.
When making sandwiches, try leaving out the butter or spread: you might not need it if you're using a moist filling. When you do use spread, go for a reduced-fat variety and choose one that is soft straight from the fridge, so it's easier to spread thinly.

You can find practical tips on eating less saturated fat in the video Cut saturated fat.

Types of fat

There are two main types of fat found in food: saturated and unsaturated.

Saturated and unsaturated fat contain the same amount of calories. But as part of a healthy diet, we should try to cut down on food that is high in saturated fat, and instead eat foods that are rich in unsaturated fat.

Saturated fat

Most people in the UK eat too much saturated fat: about 20% more than the recommended maximum.

The average man should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day.
The average woman should eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day.

Eating a diet high in saturated fat can cause the level of cholesterol in your blood to build up over time. Raised cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease.

That’s why, as well as cutting down on the total amount of fat we eat, it’s important to cut down on saturated fat.

Foods high in saturated fat include:

fatty cuts of meat
meat products, including sausages and pies
butter, ghee and lard
cheese, especially hard cheese
cream, soured cream and ice cream
some savoury snacks and chocolate confectionery
biscuits, cakes and pastries

There are practical tips on cutting down on saturated fat in Cut saturated fat.

Unsaturated fat

Having unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat can help lower blood cholesterol.

Unsaturated fat is found in:

oily fish such as salmon, fresh tuna and mackerel
avocados
nuts and seeds
sunflower and olive oils

Trans fats

Trans fats are found naturally at low levels in some foods, such as those from animals, including meat and dairy products. They can also be found in foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Hydrogenated vegetable oils may contain trans fats. If a food contains hydrogenated vegetable oil then this must be declared on the ingredients list.

Like saturated fats, trans fats can raise cholesterol levels in the blood. This is why it’s recommended that trans fats should make up no more than 2% of the energy (calories) we get from our diet. For adults, this is no more than about 5g a day.

Most people in the UK don’t eat a lot of trans fats. On average, we eat about half the recommended maximum. Most of the supermarkets in the UK have removed hydrogenated vegetable oil from all their own-brand products.

We eat a lot more saturated fats than trans fats. This means that when looking at the amount of fat in your diet, it’s more important to focus on reducing the amount of saturated fat.

Check nutrition labels

The nutrition labels on food packaging can help you to cut down on total fat and saturated fat.

Labels containing nutrition information are usually on the back of food packaging. This label will often tell you how much fat and saturated fat is contained in 100g of the food, and sometimes the amount per portion or per serving.

Some packaging also displays nutrition labels on the front, which give at-a-glance information on specific nutrients. These labels may contain information on Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) and/or traffic light colour coding to help you make healthier choices.

When traffic lights are used, red means 'high'. Leave red foods for the occasional treat, and aim to eat mainly foods that are green or amber.

Total fat

So what counts as high-fat and low-fat?

High: more than 20g of fat per 100g. May display a red traffic light.
Low: 3g of fat or less per 100g. May display a green traffic light.

Saturated fat

Look out for "saturates" or "sat fat" on the label: this tells you how much saturated fat is in the food.

High: more than 5g saturates per 100g. May display a red traffic light.
Low: 1.5g saturates or less per 100g. May display a green traffic light.

If the amount of fat or saturated fat per 100g is in between these figures, that's a medium level, and may be colour coded amber.

What "lower fat" really means

Just because a food packet contains the words “lower fat” or "reduced fat" doesn’t necessarily mean it's a healthy choice.

The lower-fat claim simply means that the food is 30% lower in fat than the standard equivalent. So if the type of food in question is high in fat in the first place, the lower-fat version may also still be high in fat.

For example, a lower-fat mayonnaise is 30% lower in fat than the standard version, but is still high in fat.

Also, foods that are marked "lower fat" or "reduced fat" aren't necessarily low in calories. Often the fat is replaced with sugar, and the food may end up with the same, or an even higher, calorie content.

To be sure of the fat content and the calorie content, remember to check the nutrition label on the packet.

Find out more about nutrition labels and how they can help you choose between products.

Last reviewed: 31/01/2011

Next review due: 31/01/2013

Ratings

How helpful is this page?

Average rating

Based on 219 ratings

All ratings

81 ratings

8 ratings

11 ratings

32 ratings

87 ratings

Add your rating

Comments

29 Comments about ‘Fat: the facts’

Our rules:

Comments are personal views. Any information they give has not been checked and may not be accurate.

yahoops said on 25 November 2012

Some time ago I asked NHS Choices for the evidence that saturated fatty acids were bad for our health. I was referred to the Department for Health. They emailed the following explanation:

"The Department’s advice on saturated fats is based on recommendations from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy, as set out in ‘Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the UK’, which was published in 1991, and ‘Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease’, which was published in 1994.

This advice is in line with more recent assessments of the evidence, including the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) ‘Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fats’, which was published in 2010. The ESFA considered the evidence on saturated fats in relation to various risk factors and health outcomes including cholesterol levels, inflammation, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

You can access the EFSA’s Scientific Opinion at
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/1461.pdf

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence also recommended a reduction in the population’s consumption of saturated fat in 2010, following consultation on the evidence.

The Department of Health continues to keep a watching brief on emerging evidence in this area. "

So there you have it, it's just the opinion of a committee. .

derekn7 said on 09 October 2012

I personally cook with dripping and always have done, i never get ill and i am strong and fit, i also like to add some dripping to foods such as curry as it adds flavour. I remember my nana used to eat dripping straight from the packet for energy, she was never ill that i remember and never ate 5 a year let alone 5 a day.
I also like to drink and when i do i eat donner kebab meat. Eat foods from the land and drink plenty of water and your health and energy will flourish.

MPBrown said on 10 July 2012

http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract :Meta Study released last year.

Saturated fat really isn't the cause of heart disease.

Correlation doesn't mean causation...

gbogey and claire 17, I am afraid your comments are uneducated and use "Common knowledge" thinking based on no good scientific research at all. Just because everyone says something doesn't make it right.
Saturated fat = bad is the same thinking as "The world is flat" - Everyone believed it because everyone else said it was true. But it became obvious it was not true and never was.

Also for your information the china study has been completely discredited many times over.

You might like to read the extensive analysis of the raw data used to write the china study. The link to the analysis is in the above link. Written by a very bright girl called Denise Minger.

Try 1 month eating high fat (Very low Poly, especially omega 6), moderate protein, moderate fruit and veg) and your body will make it very clear you are on the right path.

User363614 said on 02 July 2012

Is this the evidence that supports demonising saturated fat? http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/article/S0899-9007(11)00314-5/abstract

WaggyFromDerby said on 25 June 2012

My mum is 90, my dad died at 85. My mum has always been obese, my dad always skiinny. My brothers and sisters, and cousins, uncles aunts on my mums side are all obese. My dads side are all skinny. There has to be more to being overweight than just food, so I started asking questions. My dad's relative are bacon & eggs people, roast dinners, stews. Fish is only eaten fried if at all. Lots of meat, the fattier the better, lots of veg, no fruit, but also no puddings.
My mums side, all cereal, mainly porridge, bread, processed food and home cooked low fat meals (mainly carbs).
I have my answer. I am annoyed by the "low fat" advice. For instance where did the idea of "5.2" being the ideal measure fo cholestrol. From a committe who needed money from Congress. Look at tins of veg, pickled onions, in fact almost every thing from supermarket shelves, you'll find "modified startch", sugar as main ingredients. Eat meat, fish, chicken, poultry, dont worry about fat, your body will tell you when your full, Eat fresh veg also, dont care which but plenty of leafs, and less potato. Dont eat "healthy foods" without reading the label to see whats in the, in fact dont eat anything manufactured by the food industry.

mal1k said on 20 June 2012

It is amazing how many people (including researchers and doctors - PS I am a researcher and a doctor too) forget the role of inheritance and genes. People have have been slim and remain slim have more than just their "healthy efforts" to credit. Having said that, we should of course all aim for a healthy diet and health life. Exercise (not intense but sustained that raises heart rate) on its own helps improve cholesterol levels.

tom91 said on 19 April 2012

This page is full of the backward thinking that we have done for the last 40 years or so. Looks like its working :)

Lets begin with this statement on the page about starchy foods

"When cooking or serving potatoes, try to go for lower fat (polyunsaturated) spreads or unsaturated oils like olive or sunflower oil, instead of butter"

The higher that saturated fat content of an oil the better it is for cooking. This is because saturated fats are more stable under heat. Cooking with polyunsaturated fats and monounsatured fats will lead to the creation of lipid peroxides,and reactive oxygen species which can damage variuos components of cells. They can also cause DNA damage. Well done NHS.

Now let me say this

Correlation does not prove causation.

Most of the studies implicating saturated fat are epidemiological studies or studies done on flawed animals models, i.e feeding a cow saturated fat even though it is not adapted to eat that food.

Eating saturated fat does raise LDL cholesterol. This is fact. But what the NHS doctors don't understand is that there are two types of LDL, Pattern A (Large bouyant) LDL and Pattern B (Small dense LDL). It turns out that eating saturated fat does change your LDL profile to pattern A. Pattern B increase with carbohydrate consumption. Pattern B is small and dense and can get trapped under the endothelial in the blood vessels and start plaque formation. Pattern A LDL cannot.

The advice on this page will make your cholesterol profile worse.

I'll finish with this

" Low fat diets are not the end all be all, they are useful to a small percentage of the population, hyper-responders, people with familial hypercholesterolemia etc. "

Mat Lalonde. PHd Organic Biochemistry (Harvard)

Fructose is the main problematic compound that we need to be eliminating, not saturated fat.

Pravda said on 28 December 2011

Yes
User363614
Camels Toe
rodders995
User493129
Shawshank
Roshambo
Ginevra
mikes1990
You are all right.

Eventually people will see the Emperors new cloths for what they are.

Here are some totally undeniable FACTS

In the last 30 to 40 years the amount of saturated fats has come down as a proportion of out total diet.

The amount of grains/carbs that we eat has gone up to replace the fat in our new (new as in the first time in human evolution) “healthy diet” as recommended by the NHS and sponsored by big (processed) food, industrial farming and big pharmaceuticals (moto “no money in healthy people”).

The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and inflammatory illnesses has sky rocketed.

Come on people do the math.

abcdefghij said on 11 December 2011

On your other pages for each of the food types, you seem to describe why we should eat them- their benefits. However on this fats page it is a lot more negative. At the top of the page it states that we all need some fat in our diet, but there is no explanation as to why. Although it may be a small component to the diet, if it is needed then providing a reason may be beneficial.

User363614 said on 24 September 2011

I thought meat eating hominids from which we evolved existed 2.5 million years ago, but I'll accept your premise Manic Monkey. Humans have eaten meat long enough to develop the adaptation of producing hydrochloric acid for digestion though, a trait of omnivores and carnivores.

How long have high glycaemic foods such as rice, processed wheat flour, and potatoes been a major food group in the human diet?

How long have refined omega-6 fats been eaten in the quantities they are today? (Corn oil results from chemical extraction, not pressing).

User363614 said on 24 September 2011

If we acknowledge the need to limit sugar, then why not starchy foods, many of which are absorbed into the bloodstream as glucose faster than table sugar?

User363614 said on 24 September 2011

Indeed, it is well documented that lowering the fat in your diet prevents heart disease, however, where is the evidence to support this?

claire 17 said on 17 June 2011

The connection between saturated fat intake and heart disease is actually very well documented. Carbohydrates are not the cause of obesity. Excess carbohydrates in the form of sugar and fats are! Studies have shown that obese people tend to eat more fats.
The mediterranean diet, on which the food pyramid is based, used to work well and the incidence of obesity and heart disease in med countries was was practically NIL. Post war, med people changed their diets and started eating more red meat, more fats such as butter, and less plant products. suddenly obesity and heart disease have become an epidemic in med countries. It is not the shape of the pyramid that causes obesity but the size of it. So yes, if you eat double your carb portion, it will make you fat, no doubt! The recommended intakes are 40 - 60% calories from carbs, max 30% from fats (15% monounsat, 7% polyunsat, 7% saturated fat), and the rest from protein. I think that this is very balanced, and you arent being told to completely cut out your fat intake. It isnt a high carb diet either.
I have followed this advice for all my life - I am 37 years old and have 3 kids. I am 159cm tall and weigh 53kg. I have weighed 53 kg since i was 18 years old. Following this advice my weight never yo-yoed at all. Post pregnancy, my weight went down to normal without any restrictive dieting - I just breastfed. My body is quite lean and not "skinny fat". And I never ever go hungry either. And its not just genetic. My family does have a tendency to get fat if we eat too much.

So for everybody's sake, be responsible and let the NHS do its work by giving good healthy advice. If you do not want to follow it, its up to you, but stop trying to convince people into starting an unhealthy fad. People who lose weight on a low carb diet just do so because they are consuming less calories than they did before.

manic monkey said on 17 May 2011

Someone with an agenda no doubt. The article does not say that eating saturated fat for you - in fact it says that this fat is an essential part of any diet. What it does say is that eating too much of it may be harmful. Also the connection between a high saturated fat diet and high cholesterol has been well documented. The precise science may be complex, but the link has been demonstrated statistically for decades.
Oh, and just because it occurs naturally doesn't make it OK. Some of the most harmful toxins to man occur naturally. And, we haven't been eating saturated fats 'since the year dot - man did not start to eat meat until well into the last million years. For the previous three million to that man was vegetarian (just look at teeth morphology and compare with other grazers).
So please check your facts before you start preaching...

A. Vegetarian

Camels Toe said on 05 May 2011

Please stop demonising saturated fats. They are essential for the body. I cannot believe a national organisation would be so short sighted as to recommend eschewing the naturally occurring fats that humans have eaten for centuries, since the year dot, in favour of nasty polyunsaturated oils. If you are in any doubt, look up how margarines and vegetable oils are made. Highly processed, involving the use of chemicals and in some cases metals, How can this be superior to the fat which occurs naturally, that which nature provides and which contains nutrients and is satiating? Maybe we think we are beating nature, that we can do better. We cannot. Diabetes is increasing, obesity is increasing, we hear that all the time. And people are clearly rejecting saturated fat in favour of polyunsaturated fat - any visit to a supermarket will tell you that. You will see many brands of vegetable spread and oil but I cannot get coconut oil or palm oil in mainstream supermarkets and usually only one brand of lard or dripping, no chicken fat and goose and duck fat is also relatively hard to come by. So if people are doing this and still we are having problems then clearly something is amiss. Saturated fat was never a problem in the first place. Sugar and grains are the problem - we over-consume them and what do we feed animals to fatten them up? Grains. Why should it be any different for us?

For me the proof is in the pudding. I eat full fat dairy only, use animal fats for frying and I am slim and full of energy. In fact I have lost a stone and a half and 5 inches around the waist. I have an hourglass figure and great muscle tone. I'm never ever starving hungry. I don't eat grains or sugar, I avoid too much fruit and never drink the juice cos it contains as much sugar as Coke. Look a bit deeper, learn how the body really works and you will see how there is actually no evidence that fat is fattening.

rodders995 said on 25 March 2011

This article is so wrong, its embarrassing it has come from a official department.

"What’s more, too much of a particular kind of fat – saturated fat – can raise our cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease"

This is simply untrue. Its wrong, wrong, wrong. After 50 years of trying, nobody has ever successfully established a link between saturated fat and CHD. CHD, cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes and even tooth caries all stem from one macro-nutrient that we were all urged to eat following the appalling mistaken belief that saturated fat was bad for us. Yes, by telling us that sat fat was bad, with no clinical evidence, the shift in dietary habits, starting in 1982 was that the consumption of refined carbohydrates exploded, as did the obesity crisis and cardiovascular problems that particularly affect diabetics.

Furthermore, to include 'saturated fat' and 'cholesterol' in the same sentence as if they are in any way inter-related is ignorance bordering on stupidity. That it comes from a Government department is unbelievable. Or maybe not.

Saturated fat is the healthiest fat by a long way. Vegetable oils are not what we evolved to eat, and were heavily promoted in the early part of the last century to the point where the manufacturers in the US managed to get the government to promote them. As usual, our authorities follow what happens in the US without questioning the science or its methodology. As a result, the financial interests of US vegetable oil manufacturers end up as British health advice on the NHS website. So, so wrong.

I know its difficult for the NHS to admit it is wrong in its advice, but for heaven's sake can you please bury this article and admit that saturated fat has no adverse effects on the body, and in fact is far, far, healthier than the alternatives of vegetables oils and highly refined industrial carbohydrates.

User493129 said on 10 October 2010

I’ve tried every diet imaginable for the past 40 years, from fasting through veganism and NACNE/Pritikin-type diets to Atkins but my weight has steadily increased to the point where I am classed as morbidly obese. My energy and motivation levels have hovered around zero since birth. Recently several things happened to change all that.

First, two friends who ate a low-fat high-carb diet died of heart disease. Then I learned that two more who were on NHS-recommended diets were on medication for both high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Next, I read Good Calories, Bad Calories. Most important of all, I discovered metabolic typing (The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott) and everything suddenly fell into place.

After following the fast-oxidiser regime for several weeks I have so far dumped 30 lb effortlessly, mysterious ailments have disappeared, my energy level has soared and, for the first time in my life, I know what motivation feels like – and all on a diet that would have gbogey recommending me to get measured for a coffin. All my food is full-fat, I cook in goose fat, I eat large amounts of rib-eye steaks, salmon, eggs, cheese, nuts and any other fatty protein I fancy, I have gold-top milk in my tea, double cream in my coffee and butter on my veg. Gone are the vile herb teas and lettuce and that utter abomination, skimmed milk. Calories? Pah!

gbogey, the claimed relationship between saturated fat and CHD is based on dubious science paid for by the US food industry. There is instead a clear relationship between triglycerides and CHD, and you make triglycerides from carbs not fats. There is no causal link between cholesterol and CHD, only an association, much as there is an association between the emergency services and motorway pileups, and for exactly the same reason: it’s there to repair the injuries. Using drugs to lower cholesterol levels is like shooting paramedics in order to save lives. Listen up, NHS: you’ve got it all wrong.

Shawshank said on 14 September 2010

Coming here, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is appaled by this article. Being told information that is potentially dangerous to health, I can only hope more people read around and learn for themselves about the real facts about food and don't take the word of outdated and false myths. It's simple when you go back to basics and look at what we are actually evolved to consume, it makes a mockery of this misinformation. It's no wonder we have an obesity epidemic and increasing rates of disease in this country when we are being fed rubbish like this.

Roshambo said on 26 June 2010

I'm also in agreement with mikes1990 and Ginerva. The conventional wisdom that dietary fat leads to heart disease has been based on some very dodgey science. Gary Taubes' book 'The Diet Delusion' (in the US, 'Good Calories, Bad Calories') exposes this quite completely.

If one read the "China Study", it also may be an idea to read the critiques of the study which highlight its shortcomings. The debate between Dr Loren Cordain (author of 'The Paleo Diet') and Dr Campbell (autho)r of the China Study) is particularly enlightening.

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/China-Study.html

http://crossfitbirmingham.ning.com/forum/attachment/download?id=1972595%3AUploadedFi58%3A26057

Roshambo said on 26 June 2010

gbogey said on 26 April 2010

Seriously mike1990... "Focus on promoting a lower polyunsaturated and man-made trans fat diet." Was that a typo?? You suggest the UK population reduce it's polyunsaturated fat intake? If your intention is to increase the amount of CHD is this country then you are on the right track Mike1990.

I don't see anything noticeably wrong with the main article. Maybe more emphasis could be made on eliminating animal product consumption altogether - but with the state of this carnivorous nation that is not so practical.

mike1990 and Ginevra, you seem to be residing in a different plain of existence. I would take a calculated guess and say that neither of you are scientists... certainly not scientists in the area of nutrition anyway. If you had have been more constructive and less flaming in your approach then maybe you could have been taken seriously.

There may be flaws in much of the research done to ascertain WHY high saturated fat diets are related to CHD but there has been no sound evidence to suggest that high saturated fat consumption is not related to CHD.

There has been a known link between high SFA diets and CHD for decades. It may be an idea to read through the "China study". We have not evolved so much in the past few decades to make all that research irrelevant :P

Also, take a look at the recent research done in Harvard university and then maybe you can make some better contributions to this page. We KNOW that high SFA diets are related to CHD and therefore the main article is about how to reduce the risk. I agree that there are better approaches to healthier eating than are suggested by the article, however, that does not mean that the information does not have merit.

Reluctant runner said on 15 March 2010

You can find information on trans fats on the FSA website:
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/fss/fats/transfats/

Ginevra said on 12 March 2010

I totally agree with Mikes1990's comment. I am appalled that our National Health Service still has the arrogance and ignorance to ignore vast amounts of evidence to the contrary, while still advising people in the same old dietary fallacies.
High fat intake is not the culprit - a decrease in carbohydrate consumption and increase in fat consumption has been proven many times over by dedicated research to actually raise HDL levels.
I can say this categorically, first of all because, unlike NHS, I have done my own reading and, most importantly, because I have 'walked the walk' - 18 months ago I decided to cut carb intake, and increase fat consumption, with the result that I am now 16 lbs lighter, and most importantly of all, my HDL level has risen from 1.6 to 2.1. I may add that I am 71 years of age, and have more energy than many of my peers.
It is the role of the NHS to advise on all dietary choices, not to trot out the tired old inaccuracies, so please - enough - and get your prejudices cleaned out, so that we can all find an alternative and effective way out of this obesity epidemic.

mikes1990 said on 06 March 2010

I can't believe you're still advocating a low saturated fat approach to diet. We have evolved over thousands of years to eat fatty meats. Whilst saturated fat may increase total cholesterol, this is not a bad thing, and it also improves HDL:LDL ratio, which is far more important that total cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is a good thing, as it assists in repairing cell damage, hormone production, vitamin d synthesis and a host of other things.
The whole "saturated fat causes heart disease" arguement is pure nonsense.
Saturated fat is far better for cooking with than unsaturated fats, due to the more stable nature of fats, meaning they do not go rancid/ turn to trans fats when heated.
Please stop advocating that people reduce saturated fat intake! It is completely unecessary, and may do more harm than good. Focus on promoting a lower polyunsaturated and man-made trans fat diet.

BristolEd said on 25 February 2010

So where's the information about trans / hydrogenated fats - which have already been banned on health grounds in some parts of the world?

nutrition_facts said on 25 January 2010

The definition of "low fat" is incorrect. Low fat on a food label means the food contains 3g or less of total fat per 100g.

josephmizzi said on 07 October 2009

My blood cholesterol was > 7 and my weight 100kg; after 6 months of healthy eating (low saturated fats, unrefined grains, veg and fruit), the cholesterol dropped to 3.5 mmol, and the weight to 73 kg. After another one year, I still weigh 73 kg and the cholesterol level is even lower. I feel great.

GayleHoney said on 15 March 2009

The diet questionnaire was not very useful. None of the choices reflected my actual diet. For example, the only bread option for bkfast is white bread. When I ticked that, I was advised to eat w/meal - which I do! None of the options is what I would have for lunch, and I almost never have takeaways.

Penny said on 29 June 2008

Very useful - I thought all fat was bad - have been eating a lot more than necessary through ignorance.

Useful links

NHS Choices links

External links

Nutrition essentials

Tools

5 A DAY meal planner
Recipes to make healthy eating simple
BMI healthy weight calculator
Check your BMI and get tailored advice
Healthy eating self-assessment
Find out if your diet is healthy
Food allergies self-assessment
Find out if you have a food allergy
Guide to barbecue safety
How to barbecue safely

Fat: the facts

Popular topics

Special reports

Child health

Men's health

Women's health

Eat less fat

Tips for cutting back on fat

Types of fat

Saturated fat

Unsaturated fat

Trans fats

Check nutrition labels

Total fat

Saturated fat

What "lower fat" really means

Ratings

Average rating

All ratings

Add your rating

Comments

yahoops said on 25 November 2012

derekn7 said on 09 October 2012

MPBrown said on 10 July 2012

User363614 said on 02 July 2012

WaggyFromDerby said on 25 June 2012

mal1k said on 20 June 2012

tom91 said on 19 April 2012

Pravda said on 28 December 2011

abcdefghij said on 11 December 2011

User363614 said on 24 September 2011

User363614 said on 24 September 2011

User363614 said on 24 September 2011

claire 17 said on 17 June 2011

manic monkey said on 17 May 2011

Camels Toe said on 05 May 2011

rodders995 said on 25 March 2011

User493129 said on 10 October 2010

Shawshank said on 14 September 2010

Roshambo said on 26 June 2010

Roshambo said on 26 June 2010

gbogey said on 26 April 2010

Reluctant runner said on 15 March 2010

Ginevra said on 12 March 2010

mikes1990 said on 06 March 2010

BristolEd said on 25 February 2010

nutrition_facts said on 25 January 2010

josephmizzi said on 07 October 2009

GayleHoney said on 15 March 2009

Penny said on 29 June 2008

Useful links

NHS Choices links

External links

Nutrition essentials

Tools

Site policies

Other NHS sites

About the NHS

Other channels

Other Languages

Contact NHS Choices

Create an NHS Choices account

Saved pages

Recently visited pages

Pages you might like