A common fallacy is that fat and cholesterol are one and the same substance. Even among many of those who know that they are not, there persists the assumption that foods that are high in fat are also high in cholesterol, and vice verse. Though this correlation is generally true, it is not always so.
Cholesterol is not fat, but a fat like substance found in cell membranes and nerve fibers of animals. Thus, lean tissue in meat contains as much cholesterol as the fatty portion; the difference is only in their fat content.
Some animal foods are high in cholesterol but have only moderate amount of fat i.e. organs meats like liver, heart, kidney and brain.
On other hand plant foods are zero cholesterol, but some them are entirely or largely fat i.e. vegetable oils and peanuts. A food that advertises itself as “Zero cholesterol”( as many of our vegetable oils do) can still be high in fat.
Apart from the cholesterol in your diet, your body makes its own.
The reason saturated fat and cholesterol often seem to go together is that saturated fats in food stimulate your body to produce more cholesterol. In fact, as we said earlier post, saturated fats raise blood cholesterol levels more than dietary cholesterol does.
Though dietary cholesterol was big bogey until a few years ago, we know today that it is not the primary determinant of blood cholesterol levels. Your body weight, a sedentary lifestyle. Smoking, hypertension and your intake of fat have a much great effect.
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