HEALTHY EATING HEALTHY YOU

Week Eighteen: May 10, 2010

Challenge:  The Right Kind of Fat!

There are 3 macronutrients we need to include in our diet providing the calories we need to function on a daily basis, as well as essential nutrients to keep our bodies healthy and organs running at their optimal levels: Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat.  We know that we should be including more complex carbohydrates from whole grains, fruits and vegetables, protein from lean meat sources, lower fat dairy products, legumes and tofu, and fat from…….where?  Fat is an important macronutrient we need in our daily diets, aiming to consume 20-35% of our daily caloric intake from this particular macronutrient.  The take home message ALWAYS when it relates to fat is consuming the right types of fat in the correct portion.

It is mandatory for food labels to include the amount of total fat found in a particular portion of a product, as well as the saturated and trans fat content of that product.  Most often, when a certain product offers a number of healthy benefits, you may also see the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat content of the product listed.  So, what should we be looking for, and what should we be staying away from?

The types of fat we include in our diet determine how well our blood flows through the vessels.  Our body’s membranes are made mostly of fat —-cholesterol, trigylcerides, phospholipids.  Though our body is capable of making these fats (and needs to for some processes to occur), the type of fat YOU EAT mainly determines the type of fat that makes up your membranes, and thus, how well your blood flows.  For example, if we eat a diet high in saturated and trans fats (BAD FATS), plaque builds up along our artery walls, increasing bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels, ultimately making it very difficult for our blood to flow through normally.  On the other side, if our primary fat intake throughout the day comes from poly- and monounsaturated sources, these healthy fats help to decrease bad cholesterol levels, preventing plaque from building up against the artery walls, and therefore, allowing our blood to flow normally to all organs of the body so that they all function properly. 

So, this week’s challenge is two-fold: 

1. Look at the ingredient lists of the food items you choose to include in your diet this week, making sure that the combined saturated and trans fat content does not exceed more than 10% (**review “What’s in a Label” located under the Nutrition tab), or better yet, none to minimal levels of these fat sources
2. Include sources of healthy omega-3 fats in your diet, being mindful of the portion:

• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ¼ C unsalted nuts and seeds – almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
• ¼ of an avocado – slice it in a sandwich, top off a salad, mix with an egg for a spin on the classic “egg salad sandwich”
• 4-5 oz of cold water fish – salmon, mackerel, halibut
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed – on toast with peanut butter, in yogurt, in your favourite tomato sauce
• Cook with canola oil more often
• Switch to margarine including EPA and DHA

Fat provides more calories in our diet (9 calories/gram of fat), so though we need to include the proper poly- and monounsaturated food sources, we must be even more mindful of the individual portion sizes, just like in everything we eat!