Are You Eating the Right Fat?

Are You Eating the Right Fat?

By: Brooke C. Wheeler

Which is healthier for you: a peanut butter sandwich or a glass of whole milk? In terms of fat, the sandwich is actually better for you, according to an article recently published by American Heart Association.

The AHA recommends a daily fat intake limited to 30 percent of your day's total calories, but the studies highlighted in a recent issue of Circulation show that the type of fat you eat may be just as important as the amount. People who eat a diet high in monounsaturated fat were found to have a lower risk of heart disease than those who eat more saturated fats.

Monounsaturated fats may help reduce harmful triglycerides in your blood and increase good HDL cholesterol.

So how can you change your diet accordingly? Try to incorporate more foods that have more good (mono or polyunsaturated) fat and less bad (saturated) fat. Here are a few examples:

The Good Guys

Peanut butter
Olive oil
Avocados
Soybeans
Nuts
Canola oil
Corn oil
Sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds

The Bad Guys

Marbled meats
Organ meats (including sausage)
Butter
Ice cream
Mayonnaise
Milk
Cream
Cheese
Palm oil

In The Middle

Lean red meat
Chicken
Fish

Beware: hidden saturated fats also lurk in lots of snack foods such as cookies, chips, and candy. For example, anything with coconut or coconut oil -- even if it's a vegan snack -- will be high in saturated fat.

And note that this isn't, of course, an open invitation to start gorging on peanut butter. It's still wise to keep your total fat intake to around 30 percent a day -- just make them "better" fats.