Don’t Avoid Fats but Embrace Healthy Ones!!

Fats Offer Health-Protective Benefits

Fats are essential nutrients for health. While some fats have different effects on health, others have health-protective benefits. The following fats, in moderate quantities, must be a part of your meal intake.

Omega-3 Fats
Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fatty acids, help lower cholesterol levels and support heart health.

Omega-3 Pick List

Fatty Fish: Nutritionists suggest including fish in your diet at least twice a week. Salmon, albacore tuna (fresh and canned), sardines, lake trout and mackerel are all rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Nutritionists and dietitians recommend pregnant women to avoid certain fish varieties and this list is available at the website www.firsteatright.com.

Include Omega-3-Rich Foods in your Healthy Diet Plan

Walnuts: These single-seeded stone fruits are abundant in omega-3 and vitamin E. You can add these plant-based omega sources to cereal, salads or muffins. Oil from walnuts is a good choice for salad dressings and sautés.

All Vegetable Oils: Replace solid fats such as butter or margarine with oil while cooking or baking. This helps with sauteing and stir-frying.

Flaxseed: Whole flaxseeds cannot be broken down by our body to enjoy the nutrients from the omega-3-containing oil. Ground flaxseeds added to breakfast cereal, yogurt, baked goods like ​breads and muffins or mixed dishes and casseroles; flaxseed oil sprayed over quinoa or salad dressings —are few good methods to access the goodness of flaxseeds.
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Eggs: Chickens fed with feed high in omega-3 fatty acids produce eggs enriched with these fatty acids. Hence check the package label for the nutrition facts before buying eggs.

​Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated fats improve blood cholesterol levels thereby decreasing your risk of heart disease.

Monounsaturated Fats Pick List

Nuts: These heart-healthy fats are also loaded with protein, fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals. One portion of nuts is equivalent to 28 grams or 1/3 cup and fulfills your calorific need to around 160 to 180 calories. Hence always remember the right portion to consume.
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Oils: Oils are better than saturated fats, such as butter. Use them to sauté vegetables, seafood, poultry and meat or in salad dressings.
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Avocado: Additional to monounsaturated fats avocados are a plush source of folate, vitamins E, C and B6, potassium and fiber. Use avocados liberally in salad, eggs, pizza, soup, salsa and sandwiches.
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Peanut Butter: Surprisingly almost half of the fat in peanut butter is monounsaturated fatty acids. Resist the urge to pour off the heart-healthy oil that's separated out of natural peanut butter, and mix it in.

Avocados are Used Right from Pizzas to Salads