Chef Paul: The Skinny On Fat
March 09 2011
A few years ago the weight loss blogs and healthy eating proponents were all reciting the same mantra…Eat low fat! Soon, many big food companies jumped on the band wagon because this is what people wanted…low fat foods and even “fat-free” products.
Today, we are learning more and more about how fats are absorbed and their relationship with our cholesterol levels. We’re learning about good fats. In fact, we’re learning that WE NEED FATS IN OUR DIET! Fats help our bodies with nutrient absorption and maintaining cell membrane activity, among other essential tasks.
You may be surprised to read that not all fats are created equal. The good fats such as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats help to lower cholesterol and LDL (the bad cholesterol) and increase the good HDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats are found is such items as whole nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds, etc) as well as in avocados, olive oil and canola oil. Polyunsaturated fats are found in cold water fish (salmon, trout, mackerel, and arctic char) and in flaxseed and soy.
From my limited understanding, it’s not simply a case of reducing your fat intake to lower your cholesterol, but a question of your ratio of good (HDL) to bad (LDL) cholesterols.
What we need to do is limit our intake of saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are found mainly in animal products such as red meat, butter etc.
Trans fats are pure evil! They were “developed” as scientists began hydrogenating oils so that they could deal better with the food production process. Trans fats are found in many prepackaged convenience foods and fast food items. They have little to no redeeming nutritional value and are in fact quite harmful to our bodies.
Now, I’m not a dietitian or a nutritionist but I do know about food and cooking, and from what I’ve learnt, I think simply reducing our intake of animal products or using “low fat” dairy products and avoiding all trans fats like the plague will definitely help with high cholesterol. But don’t take my word for it, talk to your doctor, nutritionist, naturo-path or dietitian and find out what’s best for you.
Make informed choices at the grocery store… and remember, just because it’s labeled “low fat” doesn’t mean it’s better for you.
