Are Cholesterol and Fat the same?

Oftentimes cholesterol and fat are confused as being the same. And there is this general notion that fat causes obesity and cholesterol causes heart diseases. The information bombardment that happened in the 70’s and 80’s in the form of TV advertisements has somewhat stayed in our psyche that cholesterol and fat are bad and that they are the same. There is more to this. Let us discuss further.

What is Fat?

Simply put, fats are single molecules of fatty acids attached to a compound called Glycerol. This is the most popular form of fat. They are a form of a chemical compound called LIPIDS. It is naturally found in most foods like red and white meat, cheese, milk products, vegetable oils, etc. 

Saturated and Unsaturated are the main types of fats. It is generally presumed that saturated fats are not good for health but again there are exceptions to this rule.

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol are waxy compounds that are generally produced in the body to build membranes around the cell. This is done by the body to protect the cells. Liver is the organ that produces cholesterol. It is also naturally found in red meat, cheese, butter, and egg. Cholesterols are also a form of LIPIDS.

Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) and High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) are the two main types of cholesterol. Broadly speaking, higher LDL content is not good for health and can cause heart diseases, higher HDL content is good for health and can protect the heart.   

Cholesterol and fat are two distinct forms of Lipids with different functions altogether and they are chemically not the same.

Main Differences between Cholesterol and Fat

• Fats are a source of energy to the body while cholesterol is not. Fats can be burned down as calories while cholesterol cannot be burned by the body to convert as energy. This is easily understood by knowing the mechanism of how fat burns to provide energy in a keto diet. 
• Fat is something that is visible, like for example the fat tissue present in the abdomen. Cholesterol on the other hand is present in the blood and it is something that is not visible to the naked eye but can be measured. 
• Fat is present in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food sources while cholesterol is present only in non-vegetarian food sources.
• Both fat and cholesterol are needed for certain essential body functions in definitive levels. While excess fat causes obesity, excess bad cholesterol can cause heart diseases.

Can Fat Affect Cholesterol?

Saturated (found in most vegetable oils, red meat, etc.) and trans fats (found in hydrogenated oils like Vanaspathi, frequently fried oils, etc.) can affect cholesterol. They increase LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats can help lower blood LDL levels.