While it is always a good idea to remain within shouting distance of the recommended ideal weight for your body type and height, don’t get fooled into believing that slim ‘n’ trim necessarily corresponds to fit and healthy. You could resemble that stick figure loving etched by Caveman Caravaggio in his prehistoric cave all those years ago, and yet have copious amounts of cholesterol sloshing around in your bloodstream, clogging up your arteries, until you suddenly drop dead one fine day in May as a consequence of the blockages.

Not too long ago, nutritionists believed that fats in the diet needed to be minimised or, in some extreme cases even eliminated, for optimum heart health. Subsequent research revealed that this approach was incorrect, counterproductive and potentially even dangerous. Fats come in several shapes and sizes, some of which are desirable and can actually enhance cardiovascular health. In the bloodstream, fats and cholesterol move around as minute protein-covered particles called lipoproteins. Depending on their size, density and structure they may be of various types; the important ones are LDL (low density lipoprotein, which carries cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body), HDL (high density lipoprotein), and triglycerides. Continue reading I Shan’t Get No Saturation