The Truth About Saturated and Unsaturated Fats
Listen up cheese believers. Here are the hard facts about the different types of fat in food and when it’s good and bad for you. Some fat is essential in the diet, it fuels the body and is a rich energy source, but if not broken down during digestion, it can turn into body fat. Likewise, so can unused protein. But fear not!
There are 2 main fat groups you need to know:
1. Saturated fat – found in red meat, cheese and butter (you can tell because these are solid at room temperature)
2. Unsaturated fats – can be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated (and these are liquid at room temperature)
What’s important here is that we limit the amount of saturated fat we consume. The maximum daily intake of saturated fat for a man is 30g (as recommended by health professionals). And for a woman is 20g. Children should have even less. Too much saturated fat in a diet can raise cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. So all we have to do is make sure we get the balance right. Right? Correctamundo.
Calculate your cholestorol
Mostly made by the body in the liver, cholesterol is essential for making hormones, amongst other things. However, some foods increase cholesterol levels in the blood; such as red meat and dairy (you might remember, these are the saturated fats). Too much cholesterol can increase the risk of heart diesease and stroke. But good news people, eating a healthy balanced diet and exercising can help prevent high cholesterol. Look after your body and your mind and you’ll be just fine.
Say hello to Omega 3
Most of us get enough Omega 6 from cooking oil however more of us should eat a lot more Omega 3. Eat two portions of oily fish a week and you’ll be in the health professional’s good books. It gets my tastebuds in a tizzy every time. So who fancies an irresistibly dreamy cheesy triangle on a cracker with some salmon? I sure do.
With the right information and attitude to health and wellbeing, you can get the nutrients you need to stay healthy and snack happy.