Get the lowdown on low fat and other fatty labels

Fats are essential to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They help protect your organs, keep your body warm, help your body absorb some nutrients and produce important hormones. Your body definitely needs fat - but not as much fat as most people eat.

To understand how much fat you need in your diet you need to understand the types of fats and how they effect your heart health. Saturated fats and trans fats are the "bad" fats that should be avoided; monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are better choices.

Reading product labels can help you avoid those bad fats, but labels and food claims can be confusing. This table of the most commonly used health claims (as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) can help you make sense of it all.

If a food claims to be - it means that one serving of the product contains . . .

Fat free ... less than 0.5 grams of fat.

Low fat ... 3 grams of fat or less.

Reduced fat or less fat ... at least 25 percent less fat than the regular product.

Low in saturated fat ... 1 gram of saturated fat or less, with not more than 15 percent of the calories coming from saturated fat.

Lean ... less than 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol.

Extra lean ... less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol.

Light (lite) ... at least one-third fewer calories or no more than half the fat of the regular product, or no more than half the sodium of the regular product.

Cholesterol free ... less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams (or less) of saturated fat.

Low cholesterol ... 20 or fewer milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat.

Reduced cholesterol ... at least 25 percent less cholesterol than the regular product and 2 grams or less of saturated fat.

Cooking and preparing meals at home allows you more control over the health level of foods.

To aid you in that effort, look for low-fat cookbooks or recipes and choose liquid vegetable oils or nonfat cooking sprays, and avoid solid fats and shortenings.

Instead of frying foods, which adds unwanted fat and calories, opt for cooking styles that add little or no fat to food, such as stir-fry, roast, grill, boil, poach, sautȩ and steam. Change up recipes with these heart-healthy substitutions:

1 cup whole milk = 1 cup fat-free or low-fat milk, plus one tablespoon of liquid vegetable oil

1 cup heavy cream = 1 cup evaporated skim milk or cup low-fat yogurt and cup plain low-fat unsalted cottage cheese

Sour cream = low-fat unsalted cottage cheese plus low-fat or fat-free yogurt; or just use fat-free sour cream, which is also available

Cream cheese = 4 tablespoons soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) blended with 1 cup dry, unsalted low-fat cottage cheese; add a small amount of fat-free milk if needed

1 tablespoon butter = 1 tablespoon soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) or 3/4 tablespoon liquid vegetable oil

1 egg = 2 egg whites; or choose a commercially made, cholesterol-free egg substitute (¼ cup)

1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate = 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or soft margarine; since carob is sweeter than cocoa, reduce the sugar in the recipe by 25 percent.

Try this recipe: Enjoy this summer salad that packs a tasty, healthy kick with a no/low-fat dressing, but leaves the taste of creamy Gorgonzola cheese and toasted walnuts!

This recipe was provided by the American Heart Association. To submit a question or topic to be addressed, write to Kimberly.Gardner@heart.org

Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese

¼ cup fat-free or low-fat plain yogurt

3 tablespoons fat-free milk

2 tablespoons fat-free or light mayonnaise dressing

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ medium garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

1 medium head of iceberg lettuce, cut into 4 wedges (about 3 ounces each)

½ cup finely chopped green onions (green and white parts)

1 ounce crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped walnuts, dry- roasted

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Place the lettuce wedges on a platter. Spoon the dressing over all. Sprinkle with the green onions, cheese, and walnuts.

Serves four (1 lettuce wedge and 2 tablespoons dressing per serving).

Recipe nutrition: Nutrition values per serving: 71 calories, 4 g fat (1.3 g saturated), 6 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein, 6 mg cholesterol, 355 mg sodium.

"Diabetes & Heart Healthy Cookbook" by the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association (2004)