Know Your Fats Eating for a Healthy Heart

I CUT THE SATURATED Find out how to reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat… FATHaider Ali Survivor

Most people in the UK eat EATING FOR too much saturated fat KNOW MONO- A HEALTHY YOUR FATS UNSATURATED A typical diet is made up of HEART a number of different fats. TYPICAL Over time, eating a diet that’s Avoiding fats altogether is not DIET high in saturated fat can increase the solution. You need to make POLY- the amount of cholesterol in sure you eat foods that contain UNSATURATED your blood. This in turn increases the healthy monounsaturated your chance of developing On average we are consuming 35% more than the and polyunsaturated fats. They recommended maximum amount of saturated fat. Poly- and coronary heart disease. % monounsaturated 35 provide essential fatty acids and fats are ok in small This chart shows you which fat soluble vitamins so they’re an TRANS amounts. Swap SATURATED important part of your diet. saturated fats for foods contain saturated fat and these. Avoid trans how you can replace it with more The average man fats where possible. should have no more healthy unsaturated fat. Use the than 30g of saturated

list of additional resources to fat a day. Some foods which contain Monounsaturated monounsaturated fats find more detailed information –– Avocados

about managing your Have these in small amounts. –– Olives OK ARE AMOUNTS SMALL Monounsaturated fats can help to –– Oils and fats: olive oil, rapeseed oil, cholesterol, food labels, eating spreads made from these oils The average woman maintain healthy cholesterol levels. –– Nuts: almonds, cashew nuts, healthily and losing weight. should have no more hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachio nuts than 20g of saturated fat a day.

Some foods which contain “I am generally very careful with my diet. I never smoked. Polyunsaturated polyunsaturated fats Haider Ali –– Fish Survivor I wasn’t overweight. But I had a high cholesterol. I now eat Have these in small amounts. –– Oils and fats: corn oil, sesame oil, differently – avoiding ghee. I haven’t had a pizza since 1999. soya oil, and spreads made from Polyunsaturated fats help to these oils I tend to eat more lentils, fish and white meat. I have replaced maintain healthy cholesterol levels –– Nuts and seeds: flaxseed, pine full fat with low fat milk. There are many life changes you can and provide essential fatty acids. nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower make. Making simple changes to your diet is easy and makes seeds, and walnuts a real difference to your cholesterol.” UNSATURATED

Some foods which contain SWAP FOR Saturated saturated fats Big fat surprise –– Processed meats: sausages, Swap these for unsaturated fats. frankfurters, bacon, ham, burgers You could have a high cholesterol level even if you Many of the most popular foods –– Fatty meat are a healthy weight, so it’s important for everyone –– Hard cheeses: cheddar and are high in saturated fat. Eating too parmesan to eat well and to be active to keep their hearts much saturated fat increases the –– Whole milk healthy. In fact, coronary heart disease is the UK’s amount of cholesterol in your blood. –– Cream single biggest killer. –– Oils and fats: butter, lard, ghee, suet, palm oil and coconut oil

Some foods which contain trans fats Trans AVOID THESE Over 40? Get a health check –– Fried foods Avoid these wherever possible. –– Takeaways You can find out your cholesterol level by attending a Foods that have hydrogenated oils –– Snacks: biscuits, cakes and pastries health check. This is an assessment carried out by your or fats in them are likely to contain –– Hard margarines GP or practice nurse to find out your risk of coronary trans fats. Trans fats can increase the heart disease. It’s available to anyone over 40. amount of cholesterol in your blood. Extra meat swaps Poached, boiled or scrambled eggs or an omelette without butter are all healthy options for your meat free day. There is no recommended limit on how many eggs you should eat but try to eat a varied diet. Other meat alternatives you can try include soya mince, soya beans, tofu, and textured vegetable protein. Look for lean CHECK YOUR Buy the leanest cuts of meat you can and avoid processed meats HAVE A FOOD LABELS such as sausages and bacon. You can remove the skin and MEAT FREE DAY Don’t assume that ‘lower-fat’, any visible fat from your meat Once a week, swap a portion of ‘reduced fat’ or ‘light’ versions of before you cook it. Switching meat for fish, Quorn™ or pulses products are healthier choices. These from frying to grilling your meat will also make it better for your including beans, peas, or lentils. terms don’t necessarily mean that heart health. they will be low in saturated fat.

Always check the nutrition labels on food packets to find out how much saturated fat is Foods with low saturated fat are better for you in your food. Colour-coding on SAT FAT SAT LOW FAT SAT MEDIUM FAT SAT HIGH food labels makes it easy to see if the level of saturated fat is Chicken no skin Lean steak Streaky bacon low (green), medium (amber) or White fish Grilled oily fish Spare ribs in high (red). To help you further, BBQ sauce Pulses Eggs our Guide to Food Labelling Salami contains a handy colour-coded guide for you to take shopping.

Here is a general guide:

Swap for skimmed or HIGH semi-skimmed HEALTHIER CHEESES More than Most cheeses are high in saturated 5g saturated fat fat but there are a range of lower-fat per 100g options to choose from. Use the table below to select healthier cheeses.

Type of cheese Total fat per Saturated fat LOW 100g per 100g CHOOSE High fat (total fat more than 17.5g per 100g) Go Italian but Less than Mascarpone 44 29 cut the cheese 1.6g saturated fat LOW FAT DAIRY Stilton 35 23 Popular dishes such as lasagne per 100g can be made healthier using Swap whole and condensed Cheddar, Red Leicester, Double 35 22 semi-skimmed milk and low fat milk and cream for 1%, skimmed Gloucester and other hard cheeses mature cheddar to make the or semi-skimmed milk. Low fat Parmesan 30 19 cheese sauce. Try using fresh tomatoes or dairy contains the same protein Brie 29 18 Magic mash cherry tomatoes with a bay leaf, and calcium as full fat diary. Paneer (made from whole milk) 28 18 dried parsley and oregano, a Prepare your mashed potato crushed garlic clove, and chilli with a low fat spread and Soft goat’s cheese 26 18 flakes to give your tomato sauce semi‑skimmed milk. Edam 26 16 extra flavour. Processed cheese Even carbonara sauce can 24 14 (e.g. cheese slices, cheese strings) be made using half-fat crème fraîche, healthier Quark Camembert 23 14 cheese and eggs. Feta 20 14

Perfect portions Mozzarella 20 14 Grate rather than slice hard Medium fat (total fat 3.1g-17.5g per 100g) cheeses so you use less. For Half-fat cheddar 16 10 maximum flavour, use a small matchbox sized portion of Reduced-fat processed cheese 13 8 The goodness of spread strong cheese rather than a Ricotta 8 5 large portion of mild cheese. Product Saturated fat Cottage cheese (plain or with additions 4 2 such as pineapple) per 100g (2 teaspoons) portion (g) Low fat (total fat 3g or less per 100g) Visit bhf.org.uk/heart to get Ghee 65 7 Reduced-fat cottage cheese (plain) 2 1 free access to the Heart Matters online recipe finder and Butter 54 5.4 Quark 0.2 0.1 search for our Mediterranean vegetable lasagne. Spreadable butter 37 3.7 Reduced fat spreadable butter 27 2.7 Olive oil spread 14 1.4 Vegetable or seed oil spread 12 1.2 HOMEMADE Low fat vegetable or seed oil spread 9 0.9 CHALLENGE Cooking from fresh ingredients rather than relying on pre- Try a different method prepared food will give you more Try baking, boiling, steaming, COOKING FATS control over what you eat. poaching or microwaving Quick fish instead of frying vegetables. AND METHODS You can buy fresh or frozen The way you cook fish and grill, steam, bake or something has a big poach it. Tinned fish, in water or Need more information? Guide to food labelling (code G54): unsaturated oils, is also a quick It’s important to read food labels to impact on the amount of and healthy meal choice. If you want to know more, go ahead find out how much saturated fat is saturated fat in the food and order another heart health in your food. resource from this list by calling the you eat. Why not try Measure carefully BHF Orderline on 0870 600 6566 or Reducing your blood cholesterol the following healthier visit bhf.org.uk/publications (code HIS3): For more in-depth cooking methods. Measure out information about managing the cooking fats and Eating well (code G186): A5 booklet level of cholesterol in your blood. oils with a teaspoon that explains the benefits of a So you want to lose weight... or use spray oil with balanced diet in depth and shows for good (code M2): A guide to losing a non-stick pan. how you can follow a healthy eating weight steadily and keeping it off. A tablespoon of Liven things up plan as part of your daily life. oil is enough for Taste of the Caribbean (code G503) Oil change Add chilli, lemon juice, or fresh or 10 minutes to change your life four people. and South Asia (code G606): dried herbs for a delicious meal. challenge pack (code G927): Change the type of oil you The pack includes no-nonsense Vibrant African Caribbean and use for cooking to pure information and challenge charts South Asian favourites that are good vegetable, rapeseed, olive = 4 people to help you eat well, get active, cut to eat and good for your heart. or sunflower oils. down on stress and quit smoking.