YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Winter 2019 | Page 5

ANNA HOWARD, APD
Anna is a Nutrition Scientist and Accredited Practising Dietitian working in
health promotion and clinical dietetics. Anna is passionate about helping
others build healthy and sustainable relationships with food and eating. 
Blood lipids
‘Blood lipids’ is a collective term for all
the fatty substances found in our blood,
including substances like cholesterol
and triglycerides. Our bodies need lipids
to work normally, but too much can be
bad for our health. Blood tests can be
used to measure the total amount of
lipids in our blood, which is usually done
after an overnight fast before you have
anything to eat or drink.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is one of the fatty substances
carried in the blood. Our bodies produce
some cholesterol naturally and the rest
comes from certain foods we eat. We
need cholesterol to be healthy, but an
imbalance can increase the risk of heart
attack and stroke.
In the blood, lipoproteins are in charge
of transporting cholesterol around our
body. The two main types are: low-
density lipoproteins (LDL cholesterol)
and high-density lipoproteins (HDL
cholesterol). HDL cholesterol is often
referred to as ‘good’ cholesterol because
it helps stop too many fatty substances
building up in our blood vessels. LDL
cholesterol is called the ‘bad’ cholesterol
because it builds up in blood vessels
which can cause blockages.
Dietary fats
There are a few types of dietary fats
found in the foods we eat. Healthier
unsaturated fats include monounsaturated
and polyunsaturated (omega 3 and 6),
which can help to reduce the risk of heart
disease. Saturated fats and trans fats are
considered unhealthier and can actually
increase bad LDL cholesterol, reduce
good HDL cholesterol and increase the
risk of heart disease.
Tips to reduce unhealthy fats in the diet
} } Eat less processed meats (ham, salami
and sausages), remove visible fat from
meat and remove skin from chicken.
} } Limit takeaway foods like hot chips,
hamburgers and pizza to special
occasions.
} } Choose reduced fat milk, cheese and
yoghurt.
} } Swap butter for margarine, nut butter
or avocado.
} } Eat fish or legume/bean-based meals
a couple of times a week instead of
meat meals.
} } Limit store-bought cakes, biscuits,
muffins and pastries, which have large
amounts of saturated and trans fats.
} } Include soluble fibre-rich foods like
oats, fruits and vegetables that help
the body eliminate LDL cholesterol.
Tips to increase healthy fats in the diet
} } Eat one small handful (30g) of nuts
each day. You can include nuts in
breakfast cereals, yoghurt or in salads.
} } Use salt-reduced nut butters as
spreads, on their own or in smoothie or
porridge recipes.
} } Chia and linseeds (flaxseeds) are great
sources of omega 3 fats.
} } Use healthier oils like extra virgin olive
oil in cooking, baking and homemade
salad dressings.
} } Replace butter for healthier fat-based
spreads like avocado, olive oil spread
or nut butter.
} } Include oily fish or seafood meals two
to three times each week as fish is a
great source of omega 3 fats.
Cholesterol in food
Cholesterol found naturally in food only
has a small impact on the amount of
cholesterol found in your blood, so it is
not very important to focus on. Saturated
and trans fats in foods have a much
greater impact on blood cholesterol
balance. Limiting unhealthier fats
(saturated and trans fats) and eating a
variety of healthier fats (unsaturated
fats) is what we should focus on, since
this will help balance cholesterol by
reducing the bad LDL cholesterol and
boosting the good HDL cholesterol.
total energy). They are a nutritious,
unprocessed food, filled with loads of
good quality protein, vitamins and
minerals. We can enjoy up to six eggs a
week as part of a healthy balanced diet.
References
• Heart Foundation of Australia:
www.heartfoundation.org.au
• Eat for Health: www.eatforhealth.gov.au
The facts
} } Blood lipids are all the fatty
substances found in the blood.
} } Cholesterol is one of the fats
found in the blood.
} } Our bodies makes cholesterol
and it is also found in some of the
foods we eat.
} } There are two types of cholesterol:
‘good’ HDL cholesterol and ‘bad’
LDL cholesterol.
} } Our bodies need cholesterol and
lipids to work normally but the
wrong balance is bad for health,
especially heart health.
} } Healthier unsaturated fats like
monounsaturated
fats
and
polyunsaturated fats (omega 3
and 6) can help to reduce the risk
of heart disease.
} } Unhealthier saturated and trans
fats increase bad cholesterol,
reduce good cholesterol and can
cause heart disease.
} } Cholesterol in food only has a
small impact on blood cholesterol
levels.
} } Including up to six eggs a week
as part of a healthy diet is
absolutely fine.
} } Getting the right balance of fats in
our diet can help us stay fit and
healthy.
What about eggs?
Recently there has been a lot of talk about
eggs! The Heart Foundation of Australia
suggest we don’t need to worry too much
about the cholesterol found in eggs. One
egg contains approximately 3g of
saturated fat, (which is low, in the context
of recommendations to keep our
saturated fat intake to less than 10% of
WINTER 2019 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE
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