Cholesterol intake vs. sat fat

Sat fat. That happened to a lot of folks during the sedentary days of the pandemic -- they sat and added fat. But today, we’re looking at the often-confusing relationship between cholesterol and sat fat -- saturated fat, that is.

One recent meta-analysis of data on up to 1.9 million people found that consuming whole milk, which contains 5 grams of saturated fat and 24 milligrams of cholesterol per cup, doesn’t increase your lousy LDL cholesterol level, although it does up your weight and body fat. Another found that drinking half a liter of whole milk a day for three weeks actually increases your good HDL cholesterol level and doesn’t spike LDL.

Does that mean that you can go cow-wild? No. If you take in more than a small amount of saturated fat, you can discombobulate your gut biome, boost inflammation, ding your immune system, damage the lining of your arteries and blood vessels and increase your risk for everything from dementia and heart disease to diabetes and arthritis.

You cannot avoid sat fat completely (limit it to 10% of daily calories -- max). You’ll get a safe level if you eat a 3- to 6-ounce serving of broiled salmon or skinless chicken daily and take butter, fullfat dairy and all red and processed meats off your plate.

So stand up for your health (literally and symbolically) and show sat fat the door. You can raise your heart-healthy HDL levels by managing stress, enjoying fruits and veggies, not smoking, exercising regularly and cooking with olive oil.