To avoid cardiovascular disease later in life, eating correctly is the best prevention. Cutting down on or even eliminating saturated fat from your diet is an obvious start, but mealtimes need not be boring.
Eating lean meat, fish and skinless poultry is not too much of a life change for those who enjoy their animal proteins. However, adding higher portions of fruit and vegetables is recommended by dieticians. Alternatively, you can add a higher portion of pasta, rice or beans and less meat to your dish.
Limiting organs, such as liver, kidneys, heart, gizzard and sweetbreads, is also advised.
Using as little fat or oil as possible while cooking is another healthy hint, so while you boil, grill, bake, roast, poach, steam, saute or stir-fry, use less than eight teaspoons of fat or oil per day. Switching to oils that are higher in unsaturated fats such as canola, safflower, corn or sunflower is also recommended.
Saturated or bad fat is also found in coconut oil, palm oil, palm kern, butter and milk fat, so dieticians recommend changing to skimmed milk or 1 per cent fat milk, and non-fat or low-fat yoghurt and cheeses.
Although egg whites are low in fat and high in protein, it is recommended that you consume no more than four egg yolks per week, which includes egg yolks found in baking and other products.