Fats- Good v/s Bad

Unsaturated fats which are commonly known as good fats help in reducing various types of heart diseases. They remain liquid under normal temperature but solidifies when refrigerated. This type of fats must be consumed regularly in order to reduce the chances of having cardiac diseases. Cook your food in olive oil and eat a lot of avocados, olives, hazelnuts and almonds to ensure the needful dose of good fats.

Contrary to popular belief, eliminating fat from the diet doesn't result in easy weight loss. The human body requires fat, and a healthy diet comprises of essential fats. Fats are a crucial part of diet and help in keeping the tissue soft and offer fat-soluble vitamins in the body. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines, an adult should consume 20% to 35% of the calories derived from fat. At a minimum level, we must try to consume at least 10 percent of fat calories from fat.

There are two main variants of fats unsaturated or the good ones and saturated or the bad fats. The unsaturated fats include polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as monounsaturated fatty acids. The bad fats in the diet consist of trans fats and saturated fatty acids. This type of fats should be avoided as they may raise the cholesterol levels, block arteries and increase the chances of cardiac diseases. In order to reduce the saturated fatty acid content in the diet, you should try to replace animal fat and partly hydrogenated fats with vegetable oil.

Yes, it is true that naturally available trans-fats are less harmful than the artificially produced trans-fats. Although trans fatty acids are equally available in both natural and artificially produced foods, one must try to stay away from artificial ones. The natural ones are found in dairy products and meat while the artificial fats are available in chips, cookies and any fried items. Stay away from microwave popcorn, margarine, icings, crackers, cookies and baked goods in order to prevent consumption of bad fats.