Heart Diet – Choosing Low Fats

Following a heart diet is beneficial for anyone and everyone.  It can help prevent heart disease.  And  if you already have heart disease, it can help you control your disease.  Eating a heart-healthy diet not only will provide your body with the nutrients it requires, but also helps you manage your weight which also contributes to a healthy heart. 

How many calories you can take in is reliant on your weight, activity level, and stage of life you are in.  How much you eat is not as important though as what you choose to eat and how you prepare those foods.  You want to choose foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals and fiber, and are low in the wrong kinds of fats and are low in calories and salt.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found it kind of confusing to know the difference between the different kinds of fats.  The types of fats you consume in your diet is critical in having a healthy heart and keepying your blood cholesterol levels down, so that is why I will spend the rest of this post giving you information on the different kinds.

Bad Fats:

Saturated Fats – are mostly animal-based fats that you find in meat, and dairy products (cheese, milk, ice cream), egg yolks, palm oil and coconut oil.  You’ll find saturated fats in your butter, and pastries.  They are bad, because they are known to raise the cholesterol amounts in your bloodstream.  Saturated fats are often solid fats at room temperature.

Trans Fats – there are two main types of cholesterol in our bodies.  First is the HDL (more Healthy cholesterol), and the other one is the LDL (Less healthy cholesterol).  Trans fats are bad in that they decrease your HDL and increase your LDL levels.  Trans fats are produced by taking unsaturated fats (good fats) and hydrogenating them to make them a saturated fat (bad fat).  Watch for the label of hydrogenated on some margarines you purchase.  Trans fats are also found in deep-fried foods like fries, and can be found in some crackers, cookies, etc. that you buy at the store.

Good Fats:

Unsaturated Fats – are usually liquid at room temperature and come from plants.  Unsaturated fats can further be broken down into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.  Both lower the less healthy (LDL) cholesterol.  Unfortunately, polyunsaturated fats also lower the HDL (healthy) cholesterol.  You will find the monounsaturated fats in canola and olive oil, and seeds and nuts.  The polyunsaturated fats are in sunflower, soybean, corn, and safflower vegetable oils.  Omega-3 Fatty acids which you can get from eating fatty fish, flaxseed (ground or oil), canola oil, or supplement form is good for you as well.

When considering a healthy-heart diet, ensure to pick the better fats while keeping your total fat consumption down.  In turn, this will result in maintaining a healthier weight as well.  Watch for more posts on more heart diet details.