Is there a difference between saturated fat and cholesterol in foods using these terms in their labels?!


Question: Is there a difference between saturated fat and cholesterol in foods using these terms in their labels?
When a product is said to have saturated fat but no cholesterol, is that a misrepresentation? How are these related? The olive oil I use has fat (doesnt say if saturated or not) but asserts it has no cholesterol. Can that be? or is there a distinction between fat and saturated fat that one has cholesterol and the other does not?

Answers:

It sounds like you're confused. Cholesterol is not a fat. It is a waxy substance produced by the liver, and it is not in your olive oil because it would only be found in meat, fish, poultry & eggs. There are two types, HDL and LDL. Your body uses the "good cholesterol" to make hormones and other things essential to health. The bad cholesterol is produced, usually in reaction to certain foods, especially those high in saturated fats, and it gets into the bloodstream and clogs your arteries. This is what you want to avoid, and the reason to avoid eating a lot of foods that are high in saturated fats. Olives have fat in them, but it is unsaturated fat, as is all fats that come from vegetation...and that is the easiest way to remember it: Saturated fats come from animal products, unsaturated from plants. The unsaturated fats are also called polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Monounsaturated are the healthiest (olive oil, almond oil, peanut oil, canola oil). Other vegetable oils, like corn and soy, are polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fats lower the bad cholesterol without lowering the good. Polyunsaturated fats can lower the bad, but they also lower the good. Saturated fats, by the way, are solid at room temp. (think butter, crisco, lard).

I hope this helps, I know it's a lot of info all at once! :)




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