Healthy Fats and Weight loss

Fats are one of the food sources apart from carbohydrates and proteins which form a minor part of the human diet but its presence in the human diet is important. Fats have always taken a back seat when we talk about it as a part of our diet. Fats mean it will make us fat. That's not the truth. The truth is there are food sources consisting of good fats and there are food sources consisting of bad fats. Good fats should comprise of about 10 -15% pf your daily diet. Good fats heal the body and bad fats harm it. Good fats are responsible for slowing down the release of carbohydrate in the blood and hence slow production of glucose in the blood which is good for health.

Let us categorize what are good and bad fats:

Bad fats : Saturated fats and processed fats(trans fatty acids) are responsible for creating disease in the body like high cholesterol, diabetes cancer. The food sources for bad fats are whole diary fat, egg yolk, butter, ghee , red meat fat, palm oil , coconut oil, deep fried foods , hydrogenated and partially refined hydrogenated oil products, margarine, baked products.

Good fats: Unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated and mono unsaturated) comprise the good fats category. These fats lead to lower levels of blood cholesterol and contains a very important fat nutrient which the body requires called Essential Fatty Acids(EFA's) such as omega3 and omega6. The human body cannot make EFA's and hence should be supplied through the human diet.

Polyunsaturated fat sources of food are fish, almonds. Flax seeds, wall nuts, pecans, sunflower oil, safflower oil(safolla is a good brand to use). Wall nuts consist of omega3 EFA. Fish consists of omega6 EFA.

Mono unsaturated fat sources of food are cashews, peanuts, cashews, olive oil.

Important note: Whether it is good fats or bad fats, they are still high in calories. Hence limit your fat intake to around 15% of your daily diet.

Summary:

A person trying to lose weight or working towards good health should avoid eating saturated fat products (or if they want to eat eat very less. For example do not have more than 2-3 egg yolks in a week). Try to eliminate Trans fatty acids(deep fried foods) form your diet. They are a leading cause of heart disease. Start incorporating good fat food sources in your diet.

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Refer to my  other source of food energy sections: Proteins and Carbohydrates