In September 2017, workers in London discovered the world's biggest fatberg — a clog of fat and debris in a sewer line that was the size of 11 of that city's iconic double-decker busses.

One way to avoid such a mess would be to cook with and eat less fat, and therefore have less fatty waste flowing through the sewers.

The same solution would help reduce clogs in your arteries. And the first step would be to adopt a diet that reduces your levels of a blood fat called very low–density lipoprotein (VLDL), which is a lesser-known cousin of heart-damaging LDL cholesterol.

Researchers from Spain and Denmark recently published two studies in the Journal of American College of Cardiology: One found that VLDL accounts for half of the heart attack risk from elevated levels of vessel-clogging fats; the other found that elevated levels of triglycerides are associated with heart woes.

VLDL is produced in your liver and delivers triglycerides to body tissue through the bloodstream.

A healthy triglyceride level is less than 100 mg/dL. You can estimate your VLDL level at about one-fifth of your triglyceride level.

So to avoid an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, you’ll be aiming for a VLDL of less than 20 mg/dL.

This doesn't reduce the importance of keeping LDL cholesterol levels below 70 mg/dL, especially if you have diabetes. But you also need to reduce VLDL levels low by keeping triglyceride levels healthy.

How can you do that? By eliminating processed carbohydrates and added sugars, upping your intake of omega-3-rich fish like salmon, achieving a body mass index below 27, and exercising regularly.