There are many reasons to limit the amount of FAT in your diet.
 
1. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death among 
adults in the industrial countries. A high-fat diet leads to 
high blood CHOLESTEROL which is one of the factors contributing to 
onset of heart disease.

The higher your total blood cholesterol level, the higher 
your heart disease risk.

Doctors recommend that 
the total blood cholesterol be kept below 200 mg/dl. 
An LDL (low density lipoprotein)level below 130 and 
HDL (high density lipoprotein) level more than 35 are desirable.

2. Some studies have shown that a high-fat diet can be
a risk factor for some types of cancer, including breast,
colon and prostate cancers. 

3. Consumption of a lot of fat increases the risk of the developing 
obesity because fat contains 9 calories per gram while
carbohydrate or protein each has only 4. Studies have shown that 
individuals consuming a low-fat diet consistently have lower 
energy intake.There are also some concepts suggesting that dietary 
fat may contribute to energy imbalance by specific metabolic 
properties of fat. Thus, reduced-fat diets may be effective in
preventing weight gain. 
 
SATURATED fat raises your blood cholesterol level more than 
anything else in your diet. Saturated fat is the most detrimental
to the body.
TRANS FATTY ACIDS appear naturally in the fat of beef, lamb, butter,
milk or commercially in prepared margarines. They have more moderate
effects on blood cholesterol level than saturated fatty acids.
POLYUNSATURATED and MONOUNSATURATED fats were found to reduce 
blood cholesterol level.
Pay attention to the type of fat, not only the amount.

Fat has positive attributes. It serves as a carrier for fat-soluble 
vitamins like A, D, E and K and provider of essential fatty acids.
The essential fatty acids cannot be made from other substances 
in the body and must be obtained from the food. Thus, it is wise to 
include at least a teaspoon of fat in every meal.





OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS are the example of essential fatty acids.
These acids are polyunsaturated. Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary
for normal growth and development and play an important role in 
prevention of cardiovascular disease, arthritis and cancer. 
Omega-3 fatty acids are mostly found in the darker flesh of fish.
The American Heart Association recommends to have 2-3 fish
meals a week.

The recommendations made by experts are to limit
 
-total fat in the diet to 30 percent of calories
-saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories
-cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams daily