Not All Fat is Bad, Choose the Right Fats for Dieting Success

Choose the Right Fats, Not No Fats

Fats are often cast as the villains in the weight loss saga.  Their name itself seemingly encompasses all that a diet is meant to prevent, “fat”.  Walk through any market today and low-fat or fat-free food seems to inhabit every shelf.  It seems logical that in order to reduce “fat” from your body it should be reduced or eliminated in your diet.  Unfortunately such logic is not entirely accurate.  The truth of fats is that there are  different types you consume in food, some good and some bad.  Fat is a necessary component of any diet plan and a healthy diet should not seek the removal of fat but include primarily healthy fats.

There 3 types of fats you can consume each day; unsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans fats.  ideally, the fat content of your diet should consist primarily of unsaturated fats with sparing amounts of saturated fats, trans fats should be avoided.

Types of Fats

• Unsaturated Fats- are the healthy fats you should aim to include in your diet. They serve many functions important in regulating your health including lowering cholesterol, stabilizing heart rhythms, and other benefits.
• Saturated Fats- can contribute to poor cardiovascular health and raise cholesterol levels. Your body can produce all the saturated fat it needs on its own and consuming more than is needed can be dangerous.
• Trans Fat- or trans fatty acids are created by heating vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen gas in a process called hydrogenation.  Trans fats are primarily found in processed foods, prepared baked goods, fast food, and margarine. These fats are not needed by your body and should strictly limit or ideally remove trans fat from your diet. A new law requires food companies to label products containing these dangerous fats.

Foods with Fats

Unsaturated Fat

• olive oil
• avovado
• nuts
• soybeans
• fish

Saturated Fats

• red meat
• seafood
• milk
• cheese
• coconut

Trans Fat

• margarine
• fast food
• processed foods