Not all fats are created equal. Fat can either benefit your health or harm it, depending on the type. Two types of fat to avoid are saturated fat, which is found mainly in foods of animal origin like butter, whole milk and fatty meats, and trans fat, which is found in commercially made baked goods, packaged snack foods, stick margarine, fried foods and candy bars. Instead, choose healthy monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, and reap the benefits.
Healthier Brain
Your brain is approximately two-thirds fat. Your brain uses the fats you eat to make cell membranes and the protective myelin sheath that insulates your neurons. To keep your brain healthy, you must get certain essential fatty acids from your diet. Eat the right foods to provide your brain with these essential fatty acids. Get omega-3 fatty acids from foods such as flaxseeds, walnuts, green leafy vegetables and cold-water fish like salmon, sardines and trout, and get omega-6 fatty acids from expeller cold-pressed sesame, sunflower, safflower and corn oils. According to The Franklin Institute, there is some evidence getting the right fats prevents cognitive decline and depression.
Trimmer Waist
If your waistline is expanding, take notice. Belly fat is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Eating foods rich in monounsaturated fats may prevent the dangerous accumulation of fat in your abdomen, according to "Diabetes Care." Good sources of monounsaturated fats are avocados, olives, almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanut butter, and olive, canola, peanut and sesame oils.
Healthier Heart
Saturated fats and trans fats are harmful to your cardiovascular system, but monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fats prevent heart attack and stroke. Get more of these beneficial fats in your diet by cooking with olive oil, making your own salad dressings with cold-pressed olive, flaxseed or sesame oils, adding avocados to your sandwiches and salads, and snacking on nuts and olives.
Less Inflammation
Although inflammation is an important process that helps your body heal wounds and fight infections, too much of it is bad for your health. Chronic low-grade inflammation paves the way for heart attacks, strokes, peripheral artery disease and vascular dementia. One cause of chronic inflammation is a diet rich in saturated fats and trans fats. You can decrease this inflammation with monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fats, which are powerful natural anti-inflammatories. Omega-3 fats from fish are the best fats for easing inflammation in your arteries.
Protection From Breast Cancer
Protect yourself from breast cancer with a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil. This oil is rich in healthy phytochemicals that fight breast cancer by suppressing the overexpression of HER2, the cancer gene in human breast cancer cells, according to a 2010 study from the Catalan Institute of Oncology and the University of Granada in Spain. Extra-virgin olive oil is made by pressing olives without the use of chemicals or heat, processes that destroy lignans and secoiridoids, the beneficial phytochemicals. Eating olives has the same benefit.
Better Skin
Keep your skin beautiful and healthy by getting plenty of omega-3 fats in your diet. The omega-3 fats DHA and EPA may shield your skin from free-radical damage and preserve collagen. Fish isn't the only source of these healthy fats. You can also get omega-3 fats from walnuts, ground flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, soybean oil and canola oil, although they're not as potent.
References
- HelpGuide.org; Choosing Healthy Fats; Melinda Smith, M.A. et al.
- "Diabetes Care"; Monounsaturated Fat-Rich Diet Prevents Central Body Fat...; J.A. Paniagua, et al.; July 2007
- The Franklin Institute; The Human Brain: Nourish -- Fats; 2004
- The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide: What You Eat Can Cool or Fuel Inflammation, a Key Driver of Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Conditions
- ScienceDaily; New Anti-Cancer Components Of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Revealed; Dec. 27, 2008
- SkinSight; Three Spices for Healthy Skin; Karen Marley; Feb. 7, 2011
Member Comments