Cutting back on fat can help you consume fewer calories. Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol more than other forms of fat. Reducing saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories will help you lower your blood cholesterol level. The fats from meat, milk, and milk products are the main sources of saturated fats in most diets. Many bakery products are also sources of saturated fats.
Vegetable oils supply smaller amounts of saturated fat.
Both kinds of unsaturated fats reduce blood cholesterol when they replace saturated fats in the diet. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat sources should replace saturated fats within this limit. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as those used in many margarines and shortenings, contain a particular form of unsaturated fat known as trans-fatty acids that may raise blood cholesterol levels, although not as much as saturated fat. The body makes the cholesterol it requires. In addition, cholesterol is obtained from food.