The Rights Fats Can Mean a Healthier Heart

Understanding fats in your diet can be a rather interesting and a sometimes convoluted process. Some fats are ok, others are not … can you keep them all straight? Before the days of manufacturing processed foods, you did not have to worry about which fats are better than others because those “bad” fats did not exist. Thanks to prepared foods and the need to keep them more preserved for later use, additional components from salt to sugar to fats are added.

The bad fats

Reading food labels is important as they can answer many questions you have about the nutritional value of what you are eating. If you see a food item where the serving is more than two grams of saturated or trans fats, you might want to reconsider. The trans and saturated fats are two major culprits in raising cholesterol levels, gaining weight and raising blood pressure – all contributors to heart disease. You will likely find these types of fats in fried foods and stick butter and stick margarine.

The good fats

There are several types of good fats that are better for your body and your heart. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats both are heart healthy and do not contribute to accumulated belly fat. In fact, they can help you lose weight. You can find these two fats in many vegetable oils, nuts, olive oil, tub margarine, avocadoes, fish, dark chocolate and more.

The poly- and mono- forms of unsaturated fat work to prevent heart disease by lowering cholesterol, keeping blood vessels pliable and elastic and reducing blood clotting. Omega-3 fatty acids are a class of polyunsaturated fats that are particularly beneficial for the heart.

The best resource for omega-3 fatty acids is fish, particularly cold water dense varieties. Salmon, mackerel, trout, herring and sardines are just a few examples of these fatty acids. The American Heart Association, the leading institution for heart disease information, suggests several servings a week – at least three or four.

You can also derive omega-3 fatty acids from plant-based sources, although they will not be as dense with beneficial qualities as those that are fish based. Flaxseed is an important source as is canola oil and walnuts.

Omega-6 fatty acids are important as well for heart health and are also considered polyunsaturated fats. Some of the same foods that you get omega-3′s from, you can get the omega-6 versions as well. Soy products and vegetable oils derived from sunflower, corn, safflower and sesame are a few examples. Soft tub margarine, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts are others.

Monounsaturated fats can be found in avocadoes, peanuts, natural peanut butter, other nut butters, dark chocolate, olive oil, canola oil, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts and many more. All of these “good” fats are beneficial for lowering that cholesterol and blood pressure. Some of them even help you lose belly fat and weight. All of them should be used within reason to create a well-rounded, healthy diet plan. If you have been at risk for heart disease, talk with your doctor to understand what is the best amount of fats you should be able to consume in your diet and work them in accordingly for maximum heart health benefit.