The Skinny on Fats

Fat is an essential component of your daily calorie breakdown. Fat plays an important role in keeping our bodies running the way they should. Responsible for healthy brain activity, fuel, and helping the body absorb necessary vitamins, we would be in trouble if we decided to cut fat out of our diets. This counter intuitive fact can be confusing because it's easy to think that if you're overweight, you should avoid eating fat. The overwhelming number of items in the grocery store labeled 'fat free' or 'low-fat' do not help clarify the confusion.

In terms of weight loss/gain, it always comes back to calories in vs. calories out. Each gram of fat has 9 calories, while 1 gram of protein or carbohydrate has only 4 calories; fat grams are the most calorie dense. It is recommended that people consume 20-35% of their daily calories from fats. This is where we need to make decisions to choose the fats that will benefit our bodies, not lead to cancer, diabetes and heart disease (just to name a few).

The winners:  polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats lower your bad cholesterol (LDL:  ultimately, the fat floating in your blood) and raise your good cholesterol (HDL:  this type is responsible for scooping up excess cholesterol and bringing it back to your liver to be broken down). Polyunsaturated fats can be found in nuts, avocado and olive oil. Good sources of monounsaturated fats are fish and fish oil, sunflower and safflower oils (Omega 3s are part of this group).

The losers:  saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats raise your total and LDL cholesterol levels. They are primarily found in animal products such as meats, cheeses, eggs and some fish. Trans fats were created by scientists to be added to foods to extend their shelf-life. These can be found in packaged foods and fast foods. Look for items that do not contain saturated or trans fats.

Some people (like me), will attribute our nation's expanding waist sizes and dramatic spikes in deadly disease to Americans eating more fat than they need, and from all the wrong sources. Pair this with a large part of the population not getting the physical exercise they need, and we've got a problem on our hands.

What can you do? Cook with healthy oils (olive, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed) and limit your intake of high-fat meats and dairy products. Another good rule of thumb - you want more food in your fridge or on the counter than in your freezer or pantry. You've heard it all before - stock up on vegetables and fruits and avoid packaged foods that are loaded with bad fats and preservatives. You can make your own cereal, granola bars, and even tortilla chips with very little effort - and no guilt! I will be posting some recipes soon to help... Stay tuned!