Fat Myths

All fats are bad for me

Fact: Not all fats are bad! Small amounts of unsaturated fats are actually necessary as they provide us with vitally important essential fatty acids. These are needed by nerves, muscles and the protective membranes around all body cells. Some also prevent harmful inflammatory changes throughout the body.

There are two major classes of fat:

• Saturated fats are found mainly in full fat dairy foods, fatty meats and vegetable oils that have been processed for use in pastries, biscuits, fast foods, chips and many snack foods. They are known as 'bad' fats - as they can increase cholesterol levels in our blood.
• Unsaturated fats, however, are considered 'good' - as they help lower cholesterol levels in the blood and do not contribute to fatty deposits in our arteries. All the essential fatty acids fit into this category.

There are two types of unsaturated fats:

• Monounsaturated fats are found in nutritious foods such as olive oil, canola, most nuts, avocados, lean meats and poultry.
• Polyunsaturated fats include the essential omega 3 and omega 6 fats - which are vitally important to the structure of the brain, nerves and eyes. Omega 3s are found in seafood, linseeds, walnuts and green vegetables while omega 6s are in sunflower seeds, soy beans, corn, safflower and grapeseed oils.

Fresh ideas for choosing good fats and reducing bad fats

• Make your own delicious spaghetti marinara using a fresh seafood mix. Cook the seafood with chopped onion in a little olive oil, tomato and plenty of garlic - and serve over freshly boiled spaghetti.
• For a healthy vegetarian meal featuring only healthy fats (including omega-3s), stir-fry some bok choy, zucchini, green beans, baby corn and mushrooms in a little sesame oil - and top with linseeds, sunflower seeds and sliced almonds.
• Try to have two fish meals (fresh or canned) a week to ensure you're getting plenty of omega-3 essential oils.
• To reduce your intake of saturated fats, try choosing low fat or reduced fat dairy products - such as yoghurt, milk and cheese - which still include plenty of great flavour but are significantly lower in fat. And always look for lean meats.
• Use liquid vegetable oils (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, soy or sesame) in cooking rather than solid or yellow fats.