A diet high in fat, particularly saturated and trans fats, raises your blood lipids, especially total cholesterol (TC), low- density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and Triglyceride (TG) levels. Replace fats and oils rich in saturated fats with those that contain unsaturated fats to help lower TC, LDL-C and TG levels.

Choose heart-healthy fats and oils:
GREAT CHOICES GOOD CHOICES **CHOOSE RARELY
Vegetable oils (e.g. canola, soy, olive, corn, safflower, sunflower, sesame, flax, walnut and peanut oils
Blended vegetable oils (e.g. canola/olive, etc)
Salad dressings made from vegetable oils
Avocado, olives
Nuts and seeds		 Soft margarine (contains small amounts of modified palm or palm kernel oils)
Mayonnaise and fat reduced mayonnaise
Fat reduced cream cheese
Fat reduced sour cream		 Butter, clarified butter, ghee
Vegetable shortening, lard, suet, beef tallow
Coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm oil, palm kernel oil
Sour cream, cream cheese, coffee cream, half and half cream
Whipping cream, whipped cream toppings
Commercial dips
Creamy salad dressings
Gravy

**Choices in this column are high in saturated fat which raises LDL-C levels.

Types of fats in food, effects on blood lipid levels and food sources
TYPE OF FAT EFFECT FOOD SOURCE
Saturated fats

 ↑ LDL-C
  • Meat, poultry, butter, lard and milk or milk products.
  • Palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil and cocoa butter (tropical fats and oils) found mostly in baked products such as muffins, cookies and crackers.
Trans fats

↑LDL-C

↓HDL-C

 As of 2018 trans fat are banned from the food supply in Canada.

  • Trans fat are produced when vegetable oils are processed into semi-solid fats that are richer in saturated and trans fats. Examples included vegetable oil shortening and hydrogenated margarines. These products are now  banned from the food supply in Canada.
Polyunsaturated fats

 ↓ LDL-C
when they replace saturated fats in your diet
  • Safflower, corn, soybean, sun flower and sesame oils. Margarine made  from these oils.
    Many margarines now contain small amounts of modified palm and palm kernel oils to help make them soft, spreadable fats at room temperature.
Omega-3 fats

 ↓ TG
  • Fatty fish including albacore tuna,  salmon, mackerel, herring and fish oils.
  • Grass fed beef, Omega 3 milk and omega-3 eggs.
  • Plant oils including flax-seed, canola,  soy and walnuts.
  • Ground  flax-seed, walnuts, wheat  and oat germ, roasted soybean kernels and sprouted soybeans.
Monounsaturated fats

 ↓ LDL-C and may ↑HDL-C
when they replace saturated fats in your diet AND may also help to maintain good levels of the protective HDL- cholesterol
  • Olive oil, canola  oil and nuts. Margarine made  from olive and canola  oils.
    Many margarines now contain small amounts of modified palm and palm kernel oils to help make them soft, spreadable fats at room temperature.
Cholesterol

↑LDL-C
  • Cholesterol is ONLY in foods from animals (i.e. eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry and fish and shellfish).
  • Plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, grains, cereals and nuts and seeds DO NOT contain cholesterol.