Saturated fat is the part of your diet that raises LDL cholesterol the most, and it adds up quickly from a few foods. A week of writing it down shows you where your total comes from, which makes it much easier to choose the swaps that matter.
General information, not medical advice
This diary is for education. If you have a medical condition or take regular medicines, check with your doctor or a dietitian before making big changes to what you eat.
What's on the diary
- A weekly grid: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks and drinks for each day, with room for the food and its saturated fat in grams, and a day total column.
- Your daily limit: a space to write it, plus the AHA (about 13 g on 2,000 calories) and NHS (20 g for women, 30 g for men) limits.
- Saturated fat in 11 common foods: butter, cheddar, whole milk, beef mince, bacon, eggs, chicken, salmon, olive oil, almonds and oats, calculated from USDA FoodData Central.
- How to read labels: what counts as high and low saturated fat on UK and US labels.
How to use it
- Find your limit first. Use the saturated fat calculator and write the number at the top.
- Use the label for packaged food. Multiply the "per 100 g" figure by how much you ate, or use the per-portion figure if your portion matches.
- Look for the big three. After a few days, circle the foods that add the most. They're usually butter, cheese, fatty meat or pastry. Our food list has swaps for each.
- Check product guides. Compare brands in our guides to cheese, crackers and ice cream.
Sources
- American Heart Association: Saturated fat
- NHS: Fat, the facts
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
- FDA: The lows and highs of % Daily Value
Frequently asked questions
How much saturated fat should I eat a day with high cholesterol?
The American Heart Association advises under 6% of calories, about 13 g a day on 2,000 calories. The NHS sets a maximum of 30 g a day for men and 20 g for women. Our saturated fat calculator works out your own limit.
What counts as high saturated fat on a food label?
On UK labels, more than 5 g of saturates per 100 g is high and 1.5 g or less is low. On US labels, 20% of the Daily Value or more per serving is high and 5% or less is low.
Does keeping a food diary help lower cholesterol?
Writing down what you eat helps you spot the few foods that supply most of your saturated fat, so you can swap those first. The diet changes are what lower LDL; the diary shows you where to start.
Is the food diary free to print and share?
Yes. Download the A4 or US Letter PDF, print a copy for each week and share the link with anyone who might find it useful.
Let the app do the adding up
Heart Tracker counts saturated fat and fibre in everything you log, by barcode, photo or voice, shows your daily total against your limit, and charts your LDL from each test. Free on iPhone, no account needed.
- 30-day LDL Reset
- Can I eat this? scanner
- LDL & HDL trends
