Health >
Nutrition
Fat - Friend or Foe?
A lot of times fat gets a inferior rap. It is really not all bad. Sure it does have twice as many calories (9 per gram) as carbs or protein. But you have to remember that fat is very essential for our worthy health. It helps the body absorb disease-fighting phytochemicals and fat-soluble vitamins. This means that without consuming any fat, our bodies would be super susceptible to disease. Without absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins, we would nave deficiencies and would be less healthy.
Basically fats are divided into 4 types:
? Saturated
? Monounsaturated
? Polyunsaturated
? Trans fats
Ideally one third of our total calories should come from fat according to many sources. Just make sure that the majority of the fat is in the healthy fat? category.
Let's get the bad fats? out of the way first. They are
? Fatty meats
? Full-fat dairy products
? Products with trans fats (always check labels)
The saturated fat in these meats and dairy products increase LDL (the inferior cholesterol). The trans fats are even worse because, not only do they raise the LDL, but they also lower the worthy cholesterol.
If you can eliminate or mostly eliminate those bad fats? you will be much healthier.
Now let's talk about the good fat?. Good fats increase HDL (the worthy cholesterol? and lower the LDL (the inferior cholesterol. What are the best fats to consume? It is widely agreed upon that monounsaturated fats are the best for you. Examples of monounsaturated fats are avocado, canola oil, olive oil and nuts.
Polyunsaturated fats follow next. Included in this category are walnuts, salmon, herring, flax seed, soy oil and corn oil.
It has been shown in studies that in order to lose weight and hold it off, you need to include the worthy fats in your diet. An fascinating point is that if you exercise a lot, you should include a little more of the worthy fats in your diet. The reasoning behind this is that exercise puts stress on your body and fat helps in the healing process.
Remember also that it is necessary to get enough omega-3 and omego-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 is found in fish and flax. Omega-6 is found in olives and canola oil. You should consume more of the omega-3 because the omega-6 fats promote inflammation, but if they are balanced with omega-3s, they promote healing. It sounds like a rather complicated relationship, but just try to remember more 3s than 6s.
I must insert a work of caution. Remember if you are watching your weight, you need to watch that you don't eat too much of the good fats? because of their high caloric count.
Eat healthy Play a lot (exercise) Live Long
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Jan Wilhelm invites you to visit
www.fitness-health-exercise.com
You will find more informative articles,
exciting products and recipes.
Be sure to check out the worthy
cookbooks while you are there.
|
|
Keywords:
fats good