Tip Of The Week: Healthy eating

photo credit: eatright.org

Healthy eating tip 9: Go for healthy fats

Regardless of what you may have been told, not all fats are unhealthy. While “bad” fats can increase your risk of certain diseases, “good” fats are essential to physical and emotional health. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats, for instance, can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, help prevent dementia, and improve your mood.

Good fats

• Monounsaturated fats from avocados, nuts (e.g. almonds, pecans, and hazelnuts), and seeds (like sesame and pumpkin).

• Polyunsaturated fats, including Omega-3s, found in fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies, and some cold water fish oil supplements. Good vegetarian sources of polyunsaturated fats include flaxseed, chia seeds and walnuts.

Bad fats

• Trans fats, found in processed foods, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, vegetable shortenings, margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, or anything with “partially hydrogenated” oil in the ingredients, even if it claims to be trans-fat free.

The debate about saturated fats
Saturated fats are mostly found in tropical oils, dairy, and animal products such as red meat, while poultry and fish also contain some saturated fat. Eating saturated fats won’t lower your risk of heart disease like polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats, but recent studies suggest that not all saturated fat is a dietary monster, either. While many prominent health organizations maintain that eating saturated fat from any source increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, other nutrition experts take a different view. In fact, recent evidence suggests that consuming whole-fat dairy may even have beneficial effects by helping to control weight.

Of course! Not every saturated fat is the same. The saturated fat in coconut oil, whole milk, or salmon is different to the unhealthy saturated fat found in French fries, pizza, and processed meat products (like sausage, ham, salami, hot dogs, and other cold cuts) which have been linked to coronary disease and cancer. 

For more, see;

Choosing Healthy Fats. 
Choose Healthy Fats 
Fats and Cholesterol 
Dietry Fats 
Healthy Fats