Twenty to thirty-five percent of your calories should come from fat. The bad news is that most Americans consume over 40 percent of their daily calories from fat. This overload of fat can lead to obesity and heart disease, as well as high blood cholesterol and countless other health problems.

Most of the fat in your diet should come from "good fats". Saturated fats and trans fats are best avoided but, in any case, should make up no more than 10 percent of your total calories. Dietary cholesterol intake should be less than 300 mg a day. If you have high blood cholesterol levels, you should aim for less than 200 mg a day.

Refer to the table below to see how much fat you should be consuming per day.