Family Doctor 2007 - (Page 61) healthy living DIETARY FATS Getting the skinny on dietary fats Do you know that you can take an important step toward improving your health by swapping “bad” fats for “good” fats? By Kelly L. Gilmore total cholesterol and blood pressure, and may increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes. How much is too much? The American Heart Association recommends that you get less than 30% of your total calories from fat. Fat contains 9 calories per gram, more than twice the calories of carbohydrates and protein, which have 4 calories per gram. So, if you consume 2,000 calories a day, you can have 65 grams of fat each day. But remember, everyone has different caloric needs. Your doctor can help you figure out how many calories you should consume each day. Y ou’ve been told a thousand times to avoid foods that are high in fat. But when you eat the right amount, certain fats can contribute to a healthy diet and lower your risk of disease. The key is to swap “bad” fats for “good” fats. Do you know which types of fats to avoid, and which types are healthy? Understanding the different types of dietary fats — and how they affect your body — is an important part of a healthy diet. The bad fats ● Saturated fat is usually found in animal products such All about fat Your body needs fat for energy. It also uses fat to build nerve tissue and hormones. Fat also helps your body absorb vitamins A, D, E and K from the foods you eat. But consuming too much fat can lead to obesity. Fat calories turn into body fat more easily than carbohydrates or proteins. Fat in your diet can confuse your appetite, so you can’t tell when you are full. Some fats also raise your as meat, poultry and dairy products made from whole milk. Palm, coconut and other tropical oils, as well as cocoa butter, also contain saturated fat. A liquid oil can be made more solid at room temperature by “hydrogenating” it, hence the term “hydrogenated vegetable oil” or “partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil.” “Hydrogenated” is just another way of saying saturated. A diet high in saturated fats can increase your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels and put you at risk for heart disease. Do you know the difference between “good” and “bad” fats? familydoctor 2007 61
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