Fats and Fatty Acids

Foods that contain healthy fats

Often when we speak or hear the term “fat” we automatically think in terms as obesity, cholesterol, weight gain, poor health… but maybe there are some things about fat that you do not know and that you must consider when pursuing a healthy eating, and that not all fats are bad and also fats are absolutely necessary for our body.

healthy fats

Fats provide energy

Fats, along with carbohydrates and proteins, are the three basic macronutrients that your body needs to stay alive and energized. You can not live aside of these three macronutrients, therefore you should know that fats properly, are very healthy.

Types of fats

In addition, as carbohydrates are not all equal, not all fats are equal. Up to three different fat types can be distinguished:

Saturated Fats

These are the “bad” fats, you should avoid at all costs. Well, not so much as to avoid, but moderate your intake. These fats usually come from animal foods such as meat, eggs or milk.

Unsaturated Fats

These are the most healthy and help regulate our cholesterol. They can be found in foods such as soy milk, vegetables or fish, and is highly recommended to prioritize the intake of these fats rather than saturated.

Polyunsaturated Fats

These also must try to avoid like the saturated.

Foods with healthy or unsaturated fats

Well, now that you know what kinds of fats are good, we will recommend a number of foods that contain unsaturated fats instead of saturated and therefore must prioritize these in your diet:

  • Nuts, especially walnuts and hazelnuts.
  • Fish such as salmon or bluefish. Salmon is a fish that, despite containing many fats, these are unsaturated, so they are healthy. Fish fat is primarily known omega-3.
  • Soy milk, in addition to all the benefits of milk and not have lactose, has a significant amount of healthy fats.
  • Virgin olive oil: One of the sources of unsaturated fats you should incorporate into your diet from now, besides being a food belonging to the Mediterranean diet.

Benefits of unsaturated fats

Unsaturated fats have some benefits for our body that will be key especially at older ages, and help regulate our cholesterol, and other benefits that are important at all ages, as it helps prevent obesity and improves our cardiovascular system, making ourselves more energetic and prevent diseases.

Foods with saturated fats to avoid

I believe that this have more than clear, however the hardest thing of all is not to fall into the temptations. However, just in case, we will tell you some of the foods with saturated or “bad” fats that you should avoid:

  • Coconut oil
  • Industrial bakery
  • All kinds of sauces
  • Fried food
  • The red meat contains an important quantity of saturated fats, so eat it, because it is necessary, but moderately. Sometimes you can replace it with another type of meat, such as chicken, rabbit or Turkey.
  • Fast food: contains large amounts of saturated fats, both sugars and synthetic products nothing good for our body.
  • Pork, in particular placenta or bacon.

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