Good fats vs. bad fats
You might be surprised to know that not all fat is bad for your health. Many fats have real nutritional benefits as well as adding vital taste and flavour to food.
Fats are a great source of energy and provide essential building blocks for the cells in your body - certain types of fat can actually help keep your heart healthy. So what's important isn't just the amount of fat, but the type of fat you eat.
What are the different types of fat?
There are two different types of fats – good fats and bad fats. Saturated fats and trans fats are called ‘bad fats’ as they can raise cholesterol levels. Unsaturated (good) fats are better for helping to keep your heart healthy. Good fats come in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated varieties.
The goodies
Polyunsaturated fats are found in oily fish and certain plant oils such as sunflower oil and spreads, like Becel. Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil, rapeseed oil, some nuts and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats (and to a lesser extent, monounsaturated fats) have been shown to lower cholesterol levels, helping to keep your heart healthy.
The baddies
Saturated and trans fats can raise cholesterol levels. Trans fats are particularly bad for heart health as they not only increase levels of bad cholesterol but also decrease your levels of good cholesterol. Saturated fats are found in butter, fatty meats, cheese and whole milk, while trans fats are mainly found in processed foods, such as cakes and pastries.
Switching foods high in saturated fats, like butter, for foods containing polyunsaturated fats, such as Becel spreads, or monounsaturated fats, can help keep your heart healthy, as part of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle.
Snack foods, fast foods and baked goods all contain trans fat. Trans fat is a health concern because it not only raises blood cholesterol levels but doesn’t provide any real nutritional benefits.
So next time you reach for a snack, try one of these low-or no-trans fat choices (such as raw vegetables, seeds or low fat yoghurt). Don’t forget to always check the label to ensure that a pre-packaged product is low in both trans and saturated fats.