Fitness Fats
High fat, low fat, good fat, bad fat. How's a person supposed to know what fats to avoid and what fats to include in their diet?
The good fats work with your body to create energy, maintain cells, transport vitamins and regulate blood pressure and heart rate.
Here are some suggestions to help you make sense of it all.
- Go for good fats like monosaturated fats. Good food sources include olive oil, fish oil, avocados, olives and most nuts.
- Polyunsaturated fats like soybeans, whole-grain wheat and vegetable oils are also good fats.
- Omega-3 fatty acids are the ones that help lower the risk of coronary artery disease. They're found in fish, flax seeds, walnuts and leafy green vegetables.
- Avoid trans and saturated fats. They're common in commercial baked goods such as crackers and cookies, and fried foods like donuts. Saturated fats are found in animal products like red meat and full-fat dairy products. Partially hydrogenated oils such as shortening, coconut, pal and other tropical oils are another source.
- Use moderation. All fats are high in calories, so even good fats need to be enjoyed in small doses.
Now, that wasn't hard, was it? It's really about what you already know: overall-healthy foods have good fats, junk foods and fast foods have the bad foods. That's not news.
Published 01/16/09
