Both saturated fats and trans fats are damaging to the heart and to overall health. Switch to foods or food ingredients that contain more of the healthful unsaturated fats — monounsaturated fats like olive and canola oils and polyunsaturated fats like safflower and corn oil.
— sauteing with butter
Switch to olive, canola, or other healthful oils. Calories are similar. But oils are rich in healthful unsaturated fats and low in saturated fat. Olive oil has only 1.8 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon; butter has 7. In fact, each tablespoon of butter gets more than half of its calories from saturated fat.
— baking cakes, cookies, and quick breads with solid shortening
Switch to healthful oils. Calories are roughly the same. But again, the oils are rich in unsaturated fats. The solid shortening is made from oil that is hydrogenated, so it will contain unhealthful trans fats.
— cooking pork loin or fattier cuts of pork
Switch to pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is as lean as skinless white meat chicken. A 3-ounce cooked serving contains only 4 grams of fat, just 1.4 grams of it saturated. The same-size serving of cooked pork loin contains nearly 12 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of it saturated. A good rule of thumb is that the leaner the cut of meat, the less saturated fat it contains.
— cooking fatty hamburger meat (73 to 80 percent lean)
Switch to extra-lean ground meat. A 3-ounce portion of a fatty hamburger meat, before it's cooked, can have nearly 23 grams of fat, 9 of it saturated. A lean ground beef, one that is labeled 91 percent lean, carries only 8 grams of fat, 3 of it saturated. Cooking, particularly if you broil or grill meat to the well-done stage, can reduce fat — but not dramatically enough to make fatty meat as lean as the extra-lean variety.
— using flour tortillas made with hydrogenated oils
Switch to whole-grain (corn or wheat) tortillas made with oil. Flour tortillas don't contain large amounts of fat, just a few grams per serving. But they're made with hydrogenated oils, so they contain trans fats. They're also void of fiber. A better choice is whole-grain corn or whole-wheat tortillas that contain no added fat or just a small amount of a healthful fat like canola oil.
— using whole milk in sauces or baked goods
Switch to skim milk. Each 8 ounces of whole milk contains close to 8 grams of fat, nearly 5 of it saturated. Skim milk contains less than .5 gram of fat in this same-size serving and less than .25 gram of fat. If you'd rather not use any dairy products, consider using soy milk in place of whole milk. It's not similar flavorwise, and it contains more fat than skim milk. But the fat it contains is mainly unsaturated.
— adding sour cream to recipes
Switch to nonfat plain yogurt. Each cup of sour cream contains 40 grams of fat, 32 of it saturated, and 200 milligrams of cholesterol. The same amount of plain skim-milk yogurt carries a mere .5 grams of fat and only 4 milligrams of cholesterol.
— spreading sandwiches or crackers with regular peanut butter
Switch to natural-style peanut butter. This saves no calories, just offers a healthful switch in the type of fat. Natural peanut butter is free of trans fats. Regular peanut butters are usually made with hydrogenated oils that do not contain trans fats but do add more saturated fat.
— eating chicken and turkey with the skin on
Consider leaving part of the skin on the plate. Removing the skin will remove nearly 5 grams of fat and 1.3 grams of saturated fat from a cooked 4-ounce breast of chicken. A good rule of thumb: Remove the skin after cooking, since the skin will keep the meat moist during cooking.
— smothering pizza or salad with cheese
Use a tiny amount of high-flavored cheeses like Parmesan, blue cheese, or extra-sharp cheddar. This adds far less fat, since you're satisfied with a smaller amount of cheese. One tablespoon of Parmesan cheese contains only 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of it saturated.
From EAT, DRINK AND BE HEALTHY by Walter C. Willett, M.D. Copyright © 2001 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
