OOPS #1. I don't drink Whole milk, I drink 2% Milk. Two or three cups of 2% Milk contain much less fat than One cup of Whole Milk. The next time you have a  carton of 2% Milk, read the label. It will certainly indicate that the 2% milk fat means approximately 2 grams of fat for every 100 milliliters (ml) of milk. The label will not say it as clearly as I just said it, you have some calculations to do. But at the end, the fact is that 2% milk means that in every 100 ml of milk there are 2 grams of fat. Next I would like you to do the same to find out the real percentage of fat in Whole milk. Whole milk is NOT 100% milk fat, i.e., the concentration of fat in Whole milk is NOT 100g/100 ml. The carton of whole milk indicates that there are about 3.2 grams of fat in every 100 millilliters of whole milk. That makes whole milk a 3.2% milk in term of fat content. Knowing what you know now, would you say that 2 cups of 2% milk have less fat than 1 cup of Whole (3.2%) milk? More importantly, would you indulge in 2% milk thinking that it is so low in fat that even 10 cups in one meal is not too much? It should be clear now that 100 mls of a 2% milk comes with 2 grams of fat, 200 mls of a 2% milk comes with 4 grams of fat, while 1 cup of whole milk comes with 3.2 grams of fat. Consequently, 2 cups of 2% have more fat than 1 cup of whole milk.      Just checking: If low fat milk  is 2% fat, what is Whole milk?      A.   12% fat      B.   100% fat      C.   50% fat      D.   3.2% fat

OOPS #2 Vegetable oils are all good! It's Veggie anyway! Vegetable oils have a much better reputation than animal fat because, in general, they have less of the bad fatty acids (saturated fats) than animal fats. But if you think that all of them are the same, it is time to wake up and smell the fat (rancid). Among the vegetable oils, PALM oil (if you are from Africa, you probably know what I am talking about) and coconut oil are very high in saturated fats. The consumption of these vegetable fats should be minimal to avoid the development of atherosclerosis (plaques in the arteries). It is a well known fact that increased saturated fat in the diet puts us at risk of developing atherosclerosis by causing an increase of cholesterol in our blood. Those big bags of potato chips, or french fries for example can rightfully claim tht they are ZERO cholesterol foods (That is true indeed since cholesterol only exists in animal products) but, what they fail to publicize is that their content in saturated fats may be high, which indirectly causes our blood cholesterol to increase.

OOPS #3 The label says ZERO cholesterol, there is NO WAY it can make my cholesterol go up As stated abovein OOPS #2, cholesterol increase is a result of excessive cholesterol and/or saturated fats intakes. In fact, saturated fats can make your cholesterol go even higher than cholesterol intake itself. So beware. Although Zero Cholesterol on the package really means ZERO cholesterol, always check for the level of saturated fats. Palm oil, (Many Africans love it) and coconut oil are vegetable oils. They both have ZERO cholesterol but are loaded with saturated fatty acids. If you love your arteries more than you love your taste buds, you'll learn to consume those oils with M O D E RA T I O N.

OOPS #4  Butter is bad (animal fat), Margarine (vegetable fat) is good. Let's indulge! Animal fats have a bad reputation mostly because they are known to be rich in saturated fats, the very fat that causes cholesterol to increase in our blood. Vegetable oils are seen in a better light because they are known to be low in saturated fats. Butter is made from animal fats and margarine is made from plant source of fats. However it is important to notice that for margarine to change from the fluid oil from the plant source to the spread, it has to be "saturated" also. In other words, the good POLY-UNSATURATED vegetable oil is transformed into a more orless SATURATED fat in order to become thicker and spreadable. The word SATURATION may not be seen on the box of margarine, it is cleverly replaced by HYDROGENATION, but HYDROGENATION in this instance is synonymous to SATURATION. It is fair to notice that, in general, Margarines are less SATURATED than BUTTER, however remember, they are saturated too otherwise they would have remained liquid and unable to replace butter on your morning toast.

Read More: Water / Exercise / 4 OOPSES about FAT / 10 Commandments / Becoming a Believer 
Simple Meal Plan Homework 1 / Homework 2 Opinions METABOLISM