Eating less saturated fat is the best way to lower your blood cholesterol level. Unsaturated fat does not raise blood cholesterol levels. But, like all fats, it provides 9 calories per gram and so can lead to overweight. One type of unsaturated fat is polyunsaturated fat, which is found in many cooking and salad oils, and in some margarines. Another type is monounsaturated fat, which is found in olive, canola, and peanut oils.
Cholesterol is found only in foods that come from animals.
Eating less cholesterol will help lower blood cholesterol levels in most people. These serving sizes may differ from those on the Nutrition Facts labels on packaged foods . The chart shows examples of upper limits on saturated fat and total fat grams, depending on how many calories you consume each day. For the three diets, the grams of total fat are the same for the various calorie levels, but the saturated fat grams change.