If you believed everything you read, you could be forgiven for thinking that fat is a dirty word. It makes us put on weight and clogs up our arteries, right? In fact, the truth is not so simple. Fat contains a lot of calories and most of us in the UK eat too much fat, which causes us to put on weight.

That doesn’t mean that all fat is bad, though. There are different types of fat and we need some fat in our diet if our bodies are to work properly. Fat helps the body absorb certain nutrients and is a good source of energy.

Cutting back on the total fat in our diet is a good idea for many of us but we also need to think about the type of fat we’re eating.

Saturated fat (sometimes called ‘bad fat’) is the fat found in processed meat products such as sausages, bacon, pies, butter, lard, biscuits, cakes and pastries. It’s no surprise then that it’s the fat that most of us need to cut down on. Too much saturated fat can raise our cholesterol, and so raise risk of heart disease and stroke.

Unsaturated fat, or the ‘good fat’, is found in avocados, nuts and seeds, oily fish such as salmon, fresh tuna and mackerel, and sunflower and olive oils. These fats can reduce cholesterol levels. Most of us should aim to replace some of the saturated fat we eat with these good fats.

High fat and low fat
A good way to help cut down your fat intake is to read the packaging. At the supermarket, you have a crucial weapon in the battle to get your fat intake right. Almost every food on the shelf comes with a label that will tell you how much total fat and saturated fat it contains.

So what is high fat and what is low fat?

Total fat

• High: more than 20g of fat per 100g.
• Low: less than 3g of fat per 100g.

Saturated fat

• High: more than 5g saturates per 100g.
• Low: less than 1.5g saturates per 100g.

Also, look out for the traffic light label system, now being used on the front of many food packets. These traffic lights will tell you at a glance if a food is high in fat, sugar or salt. A red-light means high so limit the amount of red light fat foods to the occasional treat.

What ‘low fat’ really means
During the weekly shop, it’s easy to reach for foods labelled ‘low fat’ and assume they are a healthy choice. But beware; all the low-fat label really means is that this food is 25% lower in fat than the standard equivalent. If the type of food in question is high in fat in the first place, then the low-fat version may still be high in fat.

For example, a low-fat microwave lasagne could still contain much more fat than a lasagne you cooked at home with your own ingredients. A low-fat doughnut is 25% lower in fat than standard doughnuts, but it’s still high in fat compared to other snacks, such as a yoghurt or some dried fruit.

Manufacturers can also increase the sugar or salt content of low-fat foods, to make up for the lost fat. Most of us eat too much sugar and high-sugar foods can lead to weight gain just as high-fat foods can. We also tend to eat too much salt in the UK, and too much salt can raise the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Omega-3: the healthy heart fat
There’s one type of unsaturated fat that has been shown to help keep the heart healthy and protect against heart disease.

Omega-3 fatty acids are primarily found in oily fish such as salmon, fresh tuna, mackerel, herring, sardines and pilchards. It’s recommended that we eat two portions of fish a week, and one of them oily.

Next time you are going to cook bangers and mash, why not try grilled salmon with mash instead? If you make that swap regularly, you’ll be doing your heart a huge favour.

Tips for cutting down
There are a few things we can all do to reduce the amount of fat we eat:

1. Choose lean cuts of meat.
2. Trim off extra fat before cooking.
3. Bake, steam, poach or grill rather than fry or roast.
4. Check food labels for the fat content of the foods you buy.
5. Add bulk to bulk sauces and stews with vegetables.
6. Use less meat.
7. Choose lower-fat dairy products, such as skimmed milk and low-fat yoghurt.

Related articles

1. Body mass and waist size can pre­dict heart dis­ease 
2. Diet changes can improve older adults’ cho­les­terol
3. Get fit without the gym  
4. How exer­cise can improve life 
5. How to lose weight and main­tain it for life 
6. Feed­ing your immune sys­tem
7. Foods that boost your immunity
8. Vital vit­am­ins for a healthy life

You have permission to reprint what you just read. The only requirement is including the following footer with it…
”Article by allvitalpoints.com, visit http://www.allvitalpoints.com for more original content like this. Reprint permission granted with this footer included.”

No related posts.