Include Good Fats & Proteins
In Search of... Good Fats
Fat and protein. Our two sources of energy besides carbohydrates. So how much of each should we have? It’s simple: since all fats are bad and all proteins are good, never eat fats, always eat proteins. Right? Wrong.
There are "good" and "bad" fats, and some proteins are better than others. While both fats and proteins should make up a small percentage of your daily calorie intake (fat – 30%, protein – 15%), it’s important to eat the right kind of each to make sure they count.
Saturated fats are the bad ones. They increase cholesterol levels in the blood and should be limited and closely monitored in anyone's diet.
Saturated fats come from butter, cheese, shortening, some margarine, tropical oils and the fats in meat and poultry skin.
Unsaturated fats are generally regarded as the healthier type of fat, and they are good when they replace saturated fats in the diet.
There are two different types of unsaturated fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Both help with healthy skin and the development of body cells, along with other benefits. Both also contain Omega-3, the fatty acid which helps fight heart disease and other heart problems.
Monounsaturated fats have been shown to increase levels of HDL cholesterol in the blood, the "good" cholesterol that helps to prevent heart attacks.
In moderation, monounsaturated fats can be a healthy part of your diet. Peanut butter, olive oil and canola oil are particularly high in monoun-saturated fat.
On the other hand, polyunsaturated fats are more likely to form free radicals and damage tissue. Polyunsaturated fat is found in high-fat fish such as tuna and salmon. Polyunsaturated fats are good for you, they just need to be monitored a little closer than monounsaturated.
Protein is made up of 22 amino acids, which are the building blocks of our body. Nine of these, called essential amino acids, cannot be manufactured by our bodies and must be obtained from food. Protein is a must for your diet.
There are no neat categories to break proteins into; some are just healthier than others.
We encourage an emphasis on nuts, eggs, and fish. Nuts are a great source of protein, and the fat content is unsaturated.
Eggs are thought to cause high cholesterol, but according to The Journal of the American Medical Association, it’s unlikely that eating one egg a day will cause heart disease.
When it comes to meat, here is the order from best to worst – fish, chicken, red meat.
Fish protein is the best because it contains the least amount of fat, but chicken is also very good.
Try to avoid red meat as much as possible; it’s recommended to eat red meat at the most once a week.
Also remember to watch those portion sizes. |