Fats How much fat can I have? It depends on your calorie needs. The Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans limit fat in their diets to 30 percent of calories. This amounts to 53 grams of fat in a 1,600calorie diet, 73 grams of fat in a 2,200-calorie diet, and 93 grams of fat in a 2,800-calorie diet. You will get up to half this fat even if you pick the lowest fat choices from each food group and add no fat to your foods in preparation or at the table. You decide how to use the additional fat in your daily diet. You may want to have foods from the five food groups that are higher in fat-such as whole milk instead of skim milk. Or you may want to use it in cooking or at the table in the form of spreads, dressings, or toppings. How to check your diet for fat If you want to be sure you have a lowfat diet, you can count the grams of fat in your day's food choices using the Pyramid Food Choices Chart on pages 25 to 27, and compare them to the number of grams of fat suggested for your calorie level. You don't need to count fat grams every day, but doing a fat checkup once in awhile will help keep you on the right track. If you find you are eating too much fat, choose lower fat foods more often. B. Divide calories from fat per day by 9 (each gram of fat has 9 calories) to get grams of fat per day. Example: 660 calories from fat÷ 9 = 73 grams of fat ORIES Cholesterol What about cholesterol? Cholesterol and fat are not the same thing. Cholesterol is a fat-like substance present in all animal foods-meat, poultry, fish, milk and milk products, and egg yolks. Both the lean and fat of meat and the meat and skin of poultry contain cholesterol. In milk products, cholesterol is mostly in the fat, so lower fat products contain less cholesterol. Egg yolks and organ meats, like liver, are high in cholesterol. Plant foods do not contain cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol, as well as saturated fat, raises blood cholesterol levels in many people, increasing their risk for heart disease. Some health authorities recommend that dietary cholesterol be limited to an average of 300 mg or less per day. To keep dietary cholesterol to this level, follow the Food Guide Pyramid, keeping your total fat to the amount that's right for you. (See table on page 9.) It's not necessary to eliminate all foods that are high in cholesterol. You can have three to four egg yolks a week, counting those used as ingredients in custards and baked products. Use lower fat dairy products often and occasionally include dry beans and peas in place of meat. |