Eating certain fats can change your 'bad' cholesterol — saturated fats go up a little, but monounsaturated fats go down, even if you're already healthy.

High intake of dietary saturated fats elevates circulating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in humans.

If you swap out butter or fatty meats for bread or pasta, your bad cholesterol goes up more than if you swap them out for olive oil or avocado — and the difference is pretty small, but it’s there.

Eating less saturated fat can slightly lower your bad cholesterol, but that doesn’t mean you’ll live longer or have fewer heart problems unless you’re changing other parts of your diet too.

If you're at risk for metabolic problems, swapping butter or fatty meats for olive oil or avocados doesn't drop your 'good' cholesterol as much as swapping them for bread or sugar.

Not all saturated fats are the same—some kinds, like those in dairy or coconut oil, might actually help your good cholesterol go up and bad cholesterol go down, while others, like those in red meat, might make your bad cholesterol worse.