Nutritionists and dieticians recommend a low-fat diet as the secret recipe to lose weight and maintain normal cholesterol and blood pressure. It is not only the amount of fat that matters, what type of fat you consume plays a role in determining whether you will lose weight. Bad fats increase cholesterol levels, while good fats are required for overall health and good heart health.
Type of fats
Trans fat and saturated fats are bad fats that are responsible for unhealthy things like weight gain and cramped arteries but good fats like polyunsaturated fats, monosaturated fats, and omega-3 play an essential role in helping you to handle your depressing moods, control weight gain and fight fatigue. So the solution to weight reduction lies in replacing the bad fats with the good ones to promote overall health and well-being.
Some of the examples of monosaturated fats are sesame oil, olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, olives, and avocados.
Examples of polyunsaturated fats are soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, tofu, soy milk, and walnuts.
Instead of avoiding the fat altogether, try replacing it with good fat. Some of the examples of bad fats are margarine, palm and coconut oil, butter, cheese, dairy products, ice-cream, fried foods, red meat, etc.
Incorporating omega-3 fatty has many benefits for health. Research has proved that it can
- Prevent the onset of depression and stress
- Give protection against memory loss and dementia
- Reduce the chances of acquiring heart disease, stroke, and cancer
- Alleviate arthritis, joint pain, and inflammatory skin diseases
Omega-3 the good fats
Omega-3 fatty acids cannot be produced by the body. The best food sources of omega-3 are salmon, herring, mackerel and cold-water fish. If you don’t prefer eating seafood that you can gain these essential fatty acids from eating algae or taking fish oil or algae supplements.
The simple ways to reduce the amount of saturated fats from the diet are
- Opt for chicken and fish rather than selecting red meat like beef, pork or lamb
- Instead of frying your food, select healthier options like grilling, baking or broiling
- Trim the fat off the meat and remove the skin of the chicken before cooking
- Benefit from dairy products but choose low-fat milk and cheese
- Cook in canola oil or olive oil instead of using lard, butter or shortening
- Try mixing up more vegetables and fruits in your food for example instead of loading the pasta with mayonnaise and cream stuff it up with vegetables.