Here’s something great you should get in your diet…like it’s really good and has so many benefits. Eating it helps to insulate your body and preserve body heat, helps to protect your organs, prolongs digestion giving you a longer lasting feeling of fullness, is essential in helping you utilize vitamins A, D, E and K, produces important hormones and your body can actually use it for energy. So what is this near miracle food? FAT! 3 cheers for fat!
In this day and age of low fat this and low fat that, some people actually aren’t getting enough. A proper range of fat intake should be between 20 and 35% of your total calorie intake…no, really! Like any food though, there are good choices and some not so good choices. The not-so-good…Trans-Fats. Avoid these ones whenever you can. These fats are hiding in your baked goods, margarine and some of your fast foods. Sorry but someone had to tell you. These are like the worst fats and you don’t need them.
Next are saturated fats. Now, there is some research that says saturated fats aren’t as bad as once thought but until all the research is in, I would limit (not necessarily avoid) their use. To limit saturated fats you can choose lean cuts of meat, poultry and fish and add in some nuts and maybe switch from high fat milk products to their lower fat versions such as switching out homogenized milk for 2% or skim milk.
Now for the good fats. Oils like olive and canola oil are good choices. How about throwing in some avocado? That’s a good one! Nuts, seeds, peanuts, almonds…all good.
So, just like carbs and protein, there is a healthy intake range for fat too. Forget the low fat craze and eat for lasting health and wellness.