High-fat diets have been linked to a wide variety of diseases: heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes, to name a few. But many men are confused about dietary fat because it comes in three different forms.

• Saturated fat
• Polyunsaturated fat
• Monounsaturated fat

Okay, if you want to get into the fine points, it’s true that some of these fats do some good. (Monounsaturated fats, found in canola and olive oil, raise the good kind of cholesterol.) But as a simple overriding principle, you get more benefit from limiting fats of all kinds. Most dietitians recommend a diet that’s no more than 30 percent fat. (Most American men eat about 40 percent of their total calories in fat.) Saturated fats—which come primarily from animal sources like beef, veal, egg yolks, and pork, and from dairy products like butter and cheese—are the worst type; try to get 10 percent or less of your total daily calories from them.

Besides the long-term health benefits you’ll receive from lowering your fat intake, you’ll also notice something visible starting to happen: You may begin losing weight. That’s because the body burns fat more slowly than it does carbohydrates—the type of calories you get from grains, pasta, fruits, and vegetables. Cut down on the fat you put in your belly to cut down on the fat you put on it.

Here are some quick tips for cutting your fat intake:

• Watch the add-on fat. Pasta, bread, and vegetables are naturally low in fat, but not when they’re drenched in butter or sour cream. Look for better toppings, such as salsa, lemon juice, or fat-free sour cream.
• Cut down on meats, especially red meats. Skinless chicken and fish are lower fat alternatives.
• Try switching from whole-milk dairy products to low-fat or nonfat versions. If you drink whole milk now, switch to 2 percent, then gradually work your way down to nonfat skim milk.
• Adopt healthier cooking methods. Stir-frying with olive oil, steaming, baking, grilling, and microwaving are all better than frying, during which the food absorbs oil (liquid fat).
• Read the label. Look at the total number of calories in a serving of your favorite food. Look at the grams of fat. Multiply the grams of fat by nine calories—that’s how much each gram contains. If your new number is more than 30 percent of the total calories, this is a food you want to cut down on.