Fat is one of the main problems of our diet today. It is contained in lots of the foods that we eat; animal fats, eggs, milk, liver and kidney. It is also a contributory factor to high cholesterol. People with a high cholesterol reading should be eating a low fat diet, reducing their saturated fats intake.

There are two types of cholesterol LDL (low density lipoproteins) and HDL (high density lipoproteins). The HDL cholesterol helps to take the LDL cholesterol from your blood stream. LDL is the bad cholesterol in your body; it is carried as solid fat in our blood stream, and sticks to the walls of your arteries clogging them and causing cardiovascular problems, which involve strokes and heart attacks.

Saturated fats increase your LDL and HDL levels. It is hard at room temperature and can be found in lots of the foods that we eat daily, for example lard, butter, suet, cream and cheese and also in foods that contain these ingredients, such as pies, cookies and cakes. It can also be found on our joints of meat that we cook for our Sunday roast. Trim the white fat off before cooking or buy the leaner options from your supermarket.

Trans fats are worse than saturated fats. Your body is unable to process trans fats fully and you will not be able to get the weight off. Avoid your daily visit to the fast food counter and convenience meals because they contain large amounts of trans fats. They occur naturally in animal and dairy foods and increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

However, not all fats are bad for you. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and are a healthy alternative to saturated fats. They come from vegetable sources and can be found in avocados, soybean, canola, olive oil, and oily fish such as sardines, pilchards and salmon. You may have read that the FDA had recommended that you do not eat more than 30% of your daily calorie intake. New guidelines now eliminate this.

So, what can you do? By simply replacing some of your saturated fats with unsaturated fats you will be helping to reduce your cholesterol levels. Think about what you eat. Eat some fresh fruit instead of a chocolate bar or a biscuit. Use low-fat spread instead of butter; switch to vegetable or olive oil for cooking and drink semi skimmed or skimmed milk instead of full fat.