TYPES OF FAT

One way to minimize your total blood cholesterol is to manage the amount and types of fat in your diet. Aim for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats; avoid saturated and trans fats.

MONOUNSATURATED FAT lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) and may raise HDL (good cholesterol) or leave it unchanged; found in almonds, avocados, canola oil, cashews, olive oil, peanut oil, and peanuts.

POLYUNSATURATED FAT lowers LDL and may lower HDL; includes omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids; found in corn oil, cot-tonseed oil, fish such as salmon and tuna, safflower oil, sesame seeds, soybeans, and sunflower oil.

SATURATED FAT raises both LDL and HDL; found in chocolate, cocoa butter, coconut oil, dairy products (milk, butter, cheese, ice cream), egg yolks, palm oil, and red meat.

TRANS FAT raises LDL and lowers HDL; a type of fat common in many processed foods, such as most margarines (especially stick), vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, many commercial fried foods (doughnuts, french fries), and commercial baked goods (cookies, crackers, cakes).

Calorie-Burning Comparisons

If you hustle through your chores to get to the fitness center, relax. You’re getting a great workout already. The left-hand column lists “chore” exercises, the middle column shows the number of calories burned per minute per pound of body weight, and the right-hand column lists comparable “recreational” exercises. For example, a 150-pound person forking straw bales burns 9.45 calories per minute, the same workout he or she would get playing basketball.

Chopping with an ax, fast

0.135

Skiing, cross country, uphill

Climbing hills, with 44-pound load

0.066

Swimming, crawl, fast

Digging trenches

0.065

Skiing, cross country, steady walk

Forking straw bales

0.063

Basketball

Chopping down trees

0.060

Football

Climbing hills, with 9-pound load

0.058

Swimming, crawl, slow

Sawing by hand

0.055

Skiing, cross country, moderate

Mowing lawns

0.051

Horseback riding, trotting

Scrubbing floors

0.049

Tennis

Shoveling coal

0.049

Aerobic dance, medium

Hoeing

0.041

Weight training, circuit training

Stacking firewood

0.040

Weight lifting, free weights

Shoveling grain

0.038

Golf

Painting houses

0.035

Walking, normal pace, asphalt road

Weeding

0.033

Table tennis

Shopping for food

0.028

Cycling, 5.5 mph

Mopping floors

0.028

Fishing

Washing windows

0.026

Croquet

Raking

0.025

Dancing, ballroom

Driving a tractor

0.016

Drawing, standing position