Daily Living

Fat, Food, and the Way You Live

One of the best ways to take care of your heart is by eating right. For those who are at risk of heart disease, that means controlling your fat intake. In this article, LifeBeat Online makes learning about fat easy. We describe various types of fat and give tips for monitoring the fat you eat.

The Importance of Fat

There are many reasons why your body needs fat. Fat, along with other nutrients, gives you the energy you need to do your daily activities. It also provides essential nutrients like fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids. Essential nutrients are those your body can get only through food. Your body requires a certain amount of these fat nutrients.

Moderation Is Key

Although your body needs certain fats, it is important that you limit the amount of fat you eat. Very low-fat diets still provide enough vital nutrients. One reason to limit total fat intake is to reduce total calories for weight management. That's because fat is high in calories — 1 gram of fat has more than twice as many calories as 1 gram of carbohydrate or 1 gram of protein. Another reason to limit fat is to reduce or prevent high cholesterol, which is a major risk factor for heart disease.

Fats, Good and Bad

Studies have shown that the type and amount of fat you eat can have a big impact on your risk of heart disease. Understanding the various fats will help you know what to eat and what to avoid.

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat is considered "bad" fat because it raises the levels of blood cholesterol. By controlling the total amount of fat you eat, you can often control your cholesterol levels to help stay heart healthy.

One way to recognize saturated fats is to know that most come from animal products. Saturated fats, like lard, are also solid at room temperature. Butter, milk, eggs, meat, and chocolate all contain saturated fats.

Trans Fat

Trans fat is also considered "bad" fat because your body treats trans fat much like a saturated fat. Trans fats are also believed to raise blood cholesterol.

Trans fat — or trans-fatty acids — is created when the fat in food is processed. If an ingredient in a food is partially hydrogenated, it means the food contains trans fat.

Trans fats are formed when a special chemical process changes liquid fat (like vegetable oil) to a solid fat (like shortening). The solid fat is more stable on the grocery shelf than liquid fat. Trans fats are often used in processed foods instead of lard, which is a saturated fat. Some processed foods that contain trans fat are shortening, cookies, crackers, fried foods, and some margarines.

Unsaturated Fats

Luckily there's unsaturated fat — fat that does not come from animals. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are two types of unsaturated fats. They are considered the "good" fats. They are believed to lower cholesterol levels when taken in moderation and used in place of saturated fats.

You can usually tell that a fat is unsaturated if it comes from a plant or fish. The more liquid a fat is at room temperature, the more unsaturated it is. The more unsaturated a fat is, the better choice it is as a fat source in your diet. Unsaturated fats are found mainly in nuts, avocados, and vegetable oils such as sunflower, olive, and canola oils.

One type of unsaturated fat — omega-3 fatty acids — may even protect against heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in mackerel, albacore tuna, salmon, and sardines. This is often why doctors and dietitians recommend including fish in your diet. Fish is also lower in total fat than many other meat choices.

Find Healthy Substitutes

To limit the amount of bad fat in your diet, try using healthy substitutes. Here are some to keep in mind:

Replace whole milk with skim milk. Skim milk has no fat, so it is the best choice. All other milk — including 1%, 2%, and whole milk — contain saturated fat. Choose the lowest percentage milk you can.
Replace butter or shortening with equal portions of apple sauce when baking muffins and cakes.
Replace each egg with one egg substitute or two egg whites. An occasional whole egg is fine to include in your diet as long as your overall saturated fat intake is low.
How you cook a food can greatly affect whether it is "healthy" to eat. Avoid frying food and use as little added fat in cooking as possible. Using cooking sprays or non-stick cookware can also greatly reduce your fat intake.

Be Sure to Check Labels

A great way to monitor the fat you eat is by reading food labels. Try these tips the next time you're at the store:

Look for labels that say "no trans fat" or "no trans."
Avoid choosing products with "partially hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" in the ingredients. These terms indicate trans fat. Read labels carefully since many low-fat foods contain trans fat.
Try to select foods with 3 or fewer grams of total fat. You will find the information under Nutrition Facts on the food label. It is best to choose foods with no saturated fats.
If you use margarine, be sure to find a brand that doesn't have trans fat. Many of them do.

Talk to a Registered Dietitian

Navigating the food aisles and selecting heart-healthy foods can be challenging. You may want to talk to your doctor about meeting with a registered dietitian to evaluate your current diet. A dietitian can help you to create a diet that's best for you.

Exercise and Nutrition Resources

Here at LifeBeat Online, we have many partner sites and resources that can offer you more information about nutrition and exercise.

American Dietetic Association
Find nutrition fact sheets, daily tips, and a guide to current books on food and nutrition.

MayoClinic.com
Food and Nutrition Center
Find tips on subjects like healthy cooking, how to make the most of dietary guidelines, and how to find cookbooks that fit your needs.

American Heart Association
Healthy Lifestyle
Find help on topics like women and heart disease and managing your lifestyle.

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