Types of Fat

A much maligned part of our diet is fat, but not all fats are the same. Focusing on more favorable while reducing unfavorable fats from your diet is a wise choice.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that less than 10% of calories a day should be from saturated fats. The American Heart Association suggests a goal of 5% to 6% of daily calories from saturated fats.

Fats are easily categorized by their food chemistry - with "saturated" fat carrying the weight of most undesirable - coming mainly from meats and even coconuts. Included here are whole milk products and other high-fat dairy goods, and most notoriously baked or fried foods prepared with saturated fats.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the more favorable fats, the former found in various plants foods and oils such as avocadoes, almonds and other types of nuts and seeds, the latter most popularly in fish and fish oils. You may have heard of omega-3 and omega-6 oils, you should strive for a favorable ratio of these, as omega-3 tends to be underrepresented in many diets.

Balanced Diet

The important point about diet is proper amounts, favoring healthy fats over unhealthy fats, and consuming high fiber foods like fruits and vegetables to help you feel full and improve your microboime.

[E]ach gram of fat has 9 calories. That's true for all fats. So calories can add up quickly, even with healthy fats. For example, walnuts are a healthy snack high in polyunsaturated fats. But just a dozen walnut halves contain about 160 calories — more calories than in one large apple.

Some simple rules, starting with favoring plant based food sources, with the complication of heating oils is they can in turn produce trans-fats which are most harmful of all.

• Choose olive oil to saute vegetables
• Consider canola oil for searing and stir frying.
• Favor "oily" fish over meats, or choose lean meats (remove skin etc)
• Select low-fat dairy products.
• Fill up on whole fruits and vegetables, even as snacks

Watch out for processed foods, which often contain saturated fat, and read nutrition labels of "low-fat or fat-free" items which may instead have sugar and other artificial ingredients.

Lose Weight

Work with Dr Oksana Aron to develop a proper diet for you: Visit her practice website to learn more about how medical weight loss can help you reach your weight loss goals.

Sources: Mayo Clinic

Labels: diet, easy weight loss, omega 3 fatty acid, red meat