What are the good fats?
Last week we talked about the fats that are not so good for
your health – the saturated fats. But what
are the good fats? Fats we can enjoy
eating and not worry about heart health?
Yes, there are a lot of heart healthy fats. How do you know how to choose the fats that
are good for your heart?
What are the heart healthy fats?
a.
Oils – what oils are considered good for
your heart?
i.
Olive
oil – a healthy choice. Olive oil is part of the
Mediterranean Diet which is an overall healthy eating pattern to follow and a
diet that promotes heart
health. Adding more olive oil to your
day can decrease your risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Cooking
vegetables with Extra Virgin Olive Oil actually promotes absorption of more of
the healthy compounds in the olive oil.
ii.
Canola oil – A heart healthy choice for cooking
and in salad dressings.
iii.
Sunflower oil, safflower oil – these oils are
better for cooking at higher temperatures.
Some studies have shown these types of oils are even better at lowering
the bad or LDL cholesterol
in the blood. So, using these oils in
the kitchen is a heart-healthy choice.
b.
Omega-3 fats – watch TV and you will see
a lot of commercials about omega-3 fats.
Unfortunately, most are for some supplement and not real food. To get heart healthy omega-3 fats think fish and
include salmon, tuna, herring, sardines, the delicious lake trout and mackerel.
c.
Nuts – especially walnuts are heart
healthy. And walnuts provide the heart
healthy omega-3 fats. Sprinkle some
chopped walnuts are your cereal or on a salad to boost your heart health. Add some walnuts to cookies, muffins when you
are baking.
d.
Seeds – you will hear people into health
talking about eating flax seeds or chia seeds.
Some sprinkle these seeds on their cereal, some add the seeds to smoothies. Heart healthy breads like Dave’s Killer “Epic
Everything” bread
includes flax, chia, sesame and poppy seeds.
This bread contains a lot of healthy seeds that are good for your heart. |
e.
Eggs – eggs used to be the “bad guys”
because they have cholesterol. But the American
Heart Association has lightened up on eggs and says we can enjoy some eggs each
week. You can buy eggs that are from
chickens given feed containing omega-3 fats and thus the eggs are higher in
omega-3 fats. Look for “omega-3” on the egg
package. We buy Eggland’s Best eggs
which have the omega-3 fats.
Eggland's Best eggs provide healthy omega 3 fats |
f.
Avocados
– not only are avocados a good source of unsaturated fats, they also
provide the mineral potassium (also good for heart health), fiber and many
vitamins like folate, B-6, C and E.
g.
Peanut butter – nuts are heart healthy as
is the food made from nuts like peanut butter.
If you buy the natural kind with the oil separated on top, mix
it in rather than pour off the oil. You
want the oil mixed in as the oil is heart healthy. If your kids only like the peanut butter with
some sugar added, fine. As long as you
get some peanut butter in them, it is heart healthy.
2. Replace the saturated, “bad” fats with heart-healthy “good”
fats. One doesn’t want to cut out
all fat in their diet or replace the “bad” fats with foods high in added sugar
or other refined carbs. In fact, a
healthy diet has about 20-35% of calories coming from fat. Those wanting to lose weight can aim for the
20% fat calories in their diets.
Athletes, or those in occupations that burn a lot of calories will want
to be at the higher end and take in about 35% of their calories as fat. And even the heart association allows for 10%
of calories to come from saturated fats.
Which is great as who doesn’t enjoy a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich
or bacon and eggs for breakfast?
Don’t shy away from fats in your diet. We have a variety of oils in our pantry including
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and sunflower oil. In our fridge we have Smart Balance margarine
which is made from vegetable oils including olive oil and canola oil. We also have peanut butter, mixed nuts and usually some
chopped walnuts to sprinkle on our cereal.
Or, we enjoy peanut M&M’s. A
fun way to add some nuts to one’s day. How
can you add some heart healthy fats to your day? Perhaps try a Chocolate Banana Smoothie, recipe
below.
Chocolate Banana Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fat-free chocolate milk (real milk is the best milk)
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
- 4-6 ice cubes
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender or a food processor. Blend until smooth.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 330 Total Fat 13 grams, saturated fat 2.5
grams. Sodium 180 mg, Total carbs 44
grams, dietary fiber 4 gram and protein 15 grams.
Sources: fats,
Unsaturated,
Olive,
heart,
Cooking,
cholesterol,
bread, Eggland’s, Avocados,
mix,
Recipe
Image sources: eggs,
bread , smoothie
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