The skinny of fats
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EmailGood fats you should incorporate into your daily menu.
Cholesterol levels are made up of low-density lipoproteins, high-density lipoproteins and triglycerides. The low-density lipoproteins can clog your arteries by sticking to the sides, which can lead to heart attack or stroke. The fats in your diet can affect your cholesterol levels and blood pressure, leading to reduced risk.
Choosing fats wisely can be challenge. Trans fats, found most often in crackers, cookies and other snack foods can be bad for your heart. These fats play a role in raising your “bad” LDL cholesterol and lowering your “good” HDL cholesterol. Saturated fats found in fatty meats and whole fat dairy products are also culprits in raising the LDL cholesterol.
Although these are what we often think about when it comes to fats, all fats are not “bad”. Monounsaturated fats have been linked to lowering blood pressure. Monunsaturated fats are found in olive and calnola oils. Polyunsaturated fats, found in nuts, soybean and corn oil are healthy options as well.
It is important to try to work these healthier fats into our diets throughout the day. Try to avoid grabbing that granola or snack bar without checking the label for trans or saturated fats. With your salad, choose a vingeratte dressing that contains olive oil instead of a creamy dressing. Reach for nuts instead of processed crackers, cookies or other premade snack foods. Choose fish over steak. Fish generally has less saturated fat than meat. Look for omega-3 fatty acids in salmon or mackerel. Michigan State University Extension says that omega-3 fatty acids have also been linked to possible heart benefits.
