Healthy Diet Also Depends On Our Body

Food fats are a vital part of eating a healthy diet. These fats are needed to nourish very important parts of our body such as our brain, heart, blood cells, hair, fingernails and toenails. What we should keep in mind is what fats are good for our body and what fats are not so healthy.

The intake of fats for a good, healthy diet also depends on our body, lifestyle, age, weight and health. In most cases our body needs a certain intake of fats daily, normally around 20-35% of our daily intake of calories. Most of these fats being monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, keeping our daily intake of saturated fats and Trans fats fewer than 11%.

The good fats that we intake are monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats can be found mainly in the Mediterranean diet where there is a high intake of foods such as olive oil and fish. People who follow this diet have a lower risk of cardiovascular illnesses. Many nut and oils such as peanut oil, olive oil, almond oil and canola oil, and nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts, have a very high content of monounsaturated fats.

Polyunsaturated fats include certain fats that our body cannot produce on its own, such as omega-3 and omega-6. Omega-3 can be mainly found in fish and fish oils. Omega-3 helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems, help lighten your mood and also helps prevent mental illnesses. Other polyunsaturated fats can be found in various seeds such as sunflower seeds, corn and also walnuts.

The two main fats that should be avoided whenever possible are saturated fats and Trans fat. Saturated fats can be found mainly in red meat and a lot of dairy products such as butter, cream and full cream milk. These fats produce a lot of cholesterol and can cause a lot of cardiovascular problems.

To avoid a high intake of saturated fats, it is recommended by experts to substitute eating a lot read meat like steak for clean white meat such as pork, chicken breasts or turkey breasts. Also reduce the intake of oils rich in this fat such as sunflower oil, this oil can be substituted by olive oil.

Trans fat also increases the possibility of cardiovascular problems as this fat also produces a high count of bad cholesterol. Trans fat is created when heating oils with a process called hydrogenation, in other words, heating oils near hydrogen gas. You can find Trans fat in most foods that have been baked, such as cookies, you can also find them in fried foods, fast foods and baked foods.

To maintain a healthy diet it is recommended to speak to a doctor or nutritionist to be able to find the perfect diet for your body and health. This diet may include more fats or fewer fats, depending on what your body needs. Either way it is always good to avoid eating bad fats more than twice a week to be able to maintain a healthy diet.