TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH Burn That Fat! One teaspoon of any type of oil, butter, or other fat contains about 45 calories; in that sense, all fats are equal. If you've been eating too many fat-laden foods and have gained too much weight, you might consider dieting and exercising to burn extra calories. This is best accomplished by performing aerobic exercise–or exercise that requires continuous, rhythmic contracting of your large muscle groups. It also strengthens the most important muscle–your heart. In addition, aerobic exercise increases the "good" cholesterol (HDL-C) and lowers triglycerides as well as blood sugar.     You need to burn off 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. By walking 30 minutes 4 times a week (for a total of 2 hours per week), you'll lose a pound of fat in less than 6 weeks. This works out to about 150 calories burned for every 30-minute walk. Activities that burn slightly fewer calories in 30 minutes include ballroom dancing (96 calories), yoga (100), and, yes, sex (85). If you want to work a little harder, try running a 9-minute mile (360), swimming at a slow pace (237), cross-country skiing (222), hiking (214), tennis (204), low-impact aerobic dancing (192), or cleaning the house (114). Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Inc

All Fats Are Not Created Equal A heart-healthy diet—one that reduces your risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD)—consists of foods that help achieve or maintain normal levels of cholesterol. These foods reduce overall levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), also known as the "bad" cholesterol, or raise overall levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), the "good" cholesterol. Fats, like cholesterol, can be good or bad. While your body does need some fat for proper functioning, the trick is to choose foods with the right kinds of fat and avoid foods with the wrong kinds. Types of Fat Two types of fat—polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats—can normalize cholesterol and may be beneficial to your heart. Two other types—saturated fats and trans fats—raise LDL-C levels, which may be harmful to your heart. Polyunsaturated fats are found in fish as well as in safflower, sesame, soy, sunflower, corn, and cottonseed oils. Omega-3 fatty acids, a special type of polyunsaturated fat that may play a major role in preventing CHD, are found in many cold-water fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and herring, and, to a lesser extent, in green leafy vegetables, soybeans, nuts, and flaxseed and canola oils. Polyunsaturated fats tend to help your body get rid of newly formed cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats are mostly present in olive, canola, and peanut oils, in avocados, and in most nuts. If your diet is very low in saturated fats but still your cholesterol readings are unfavorable, monounsaturated fats may help reduce your LDL-C and raise HDL-C. Some experts consider these the most desirable of all the fats. Recommendations On a typical day, the US adult eats a diet made up of about 34% fat. Current recommendations are to reduce fat intake to 30% or less of total daily calories. Saturated fat should be limited to no more than 10%; the remaining 20% should be equally distributed between polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Reducing daily fat intake is not a guarantee against developing CHD, but it does help reduce your risk. Saturated fats are found mainly in animal products (eg, meat, poultry, whole-milk dairy products, lard), but they are also in certain vegetable products (eg, palm oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter). Saturated fats in the diet increase LDL-C levels in the body, raising your chances of developing CHD. Trans fats are "partially hydrogenated" vegetable oils (also known as trans-fatty acids). They are used in commercially baked goods (eg, cookies, crackers, cakes) and in most restaurants and fast-food chains. Those fries, onion rings, and doughnuts that taste so good? They're usually made with trans fats. They are also found in most stick, but not in liquid, margarines. Be aware that labels on most of these products do not indicate whether they contain trans fats. Instead, they state that the foods contain partially hydrogenated oils, which should be avoided. Also, labels on products containing trans fats—which some experts consider worse than saturated fats because they increase LDL-C and reduce HDL-C—may claim that they contain no cholesterol or saturated oils, but that doesn't mean they're heart-healthy!