Low fat doesn't mean anything in terms of getting or staying healthier. Humans need fats to live. There is a lot of information out there and advertising campaigns that would lead you to believe that if you cut all fats you are better off, but that is not true.
You should get between 20 and 35% of your calories from fat to be healthy. Obviously, if you are trying to lose fat you want that number on the 20% side. The trick is to get the most beneficial fats you can and avoid the bad ones.
The easiest way to avoid bad fats is to avoid fried foods and processed foods. Anything made from an animal product will have saturated fats that are best to avoid or limit severely. Foods high in bad fats include red meat, butter, cheese, and ice cream, as well as processed foods made with trans fat from partially hydrogenated oil.
Good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated ones and they promote good health. Foods high in good fats include vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish.
Make sure your olive oil is Extra Virgin First Cold Press oil. Past the first press chemical processes are necessary to extract the oil. Also look for either olives from Italy, Spain or Turkey and ONE SOURCE ONLY. If the olives are from multiple places the odds are that the oil isn't first cold press. If you buy oil from California make sure it is USDA Organic. In Europe they don't allow the bad farming practices we use in the US.
Make sure your canola, soy or corn oil is organic. If not it IS GMO meaning it has a built in pesticide and has been sprayed heavily with Roundup while growing.
One saturated fat you want to ADD to your diet is coconut oil. It is a medium thread saturated fat which has some great health benefits. The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc. Try it on your air popped popcorn or on toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
There is much talk about fish oil these days, and I admit we take a fish oil supplement daily. There is increasing evidence, however, that the need for extra Omega 3 fatty acids isn't as important as the balance of Omega 3's v Omega 6's. Since Omega 6's mostly come from processed foods and bad fats it is easy to balance the Omega 3's by not eating processed foods. When our current supply of fish oil is gone we will discontinue using them. There is a sustainability issue with both fish oil and krill oil and the way they are harvested. Evidence shows that it hurts the fish populations.
Did you know that the omega-3 fatty acids in seeds such as whole grains may be even
more important in maintaining your health than the omega-3 fatty acids found in
fish? Omega-3 fatty acids are the least stable fats in our diet. Whole grains
contain lots of vitamin E to keep the omega-3s fresh and prevent them from
turning rancid, but omega-3 fatty acids in fish are not protected by vitamin E
and therefore turn rancid much more quickly than the omega-3 fatty acids in
whole grains.
That's what I have for you on fats. Remember that for most of us trying to reduce our weight the mark is 20% of calories. Also remember that it's as much about what you don't eat as what you do that will decide your success level.
More soon....
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