Nutrition: Fat: The Good, the Bad & the Heart Healthy | Sky Fitness

By Jenny Dixon, Sky Dietitian?

Is fat good or bad?? It is confusing and the answer depends on the kind of fat.? When consumed in excess, some fats can contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancer.? But other fats support good health.? The trick is to know the good from the bad and integrate the good fats into your daily diet.

Bad fats
Fat is an important part of our diet and it does everything from producing energy to building brain tissue.? But not all fats are created equal.? Unhealthy fats include saturated fats and hydrogenated fats and oils and typically come from junk and processed foods.? Our bodies can actually make saturated fats from other types of dietary fats, so we don?t need to eat saturated fats to be healthy.? In fact, it?s just the opposite.? Saturated fats promote inflammation, damage the heart and blood vessels, contribute to obesity and increase the risk of certain types of cancer.? From a wellness perspective, these fats are bad news.

Good fats
Our bodies can?t produce the ?good? fats, so we must get them from our diet.? These fats are called essential fatty acids and commonly appear on food labels as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.? You?ll find them in nuts and seeds, fish, vegetables and whole grains, and they deliver numerous benefits, from lowering cholesterol to reducing the risk of heart disease.

Omega-3s: The fat you have to have
Omega-3 fatty acids are the most important of the good fats.? These polyunsaturated fats are essential to heart health.? Omega-3 fatty acids are found in the highest concentration in cold-water fish, which is why regional populations with diets that focus on fresh fish, vegetables and whole grains are among the healthiest.? Evidence for the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids is so strong that the American Heart Association says taking sufficient amounts of omega-3s daily appears to reduce deaths from all causes, not just heart disease.? It is easy to get more omega-3s in your diet by eating two servings of fatty fish- salmon, mackerel, herring, trout, albacore tuna or sardines- per week.? Fatty fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.? If you don?t eat much fish, add a daily fish oil supplement to your nutritional routine.? Find a triple strength fish oil formula that delivers a combined 900mg of EPA and DHA per day.? It is great insurance for your heart!

bobby brown suzanne somers colbert colbert report legionnaires disease underwear bomber randy travis