The good fats and the bad fats

Wait, you are telling me there is good fat in foods? YES! Certain high fat foods, including fatty fish, salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna are loaded with an important fat, omega 3s. Some dairy products, nuts, eggs, dark chocolate, flax seed, chia, seed and avocados, have very important nutrients that can benefit your health. Although high-fat foods were once thought to be low in nutrients, and just bad for you, recent research now proves that some fats do not pose the negative threat of heart health that once was taught.

Some of the benefits of good fat include enhanced brain function, improves mood, supports weight loss, maintain good cholesterol level, good cardiovascular health, healthy skin, healthy nails, helps maintain good circulation, supports healthy immune system, improves joint health, reduces the risk of some cancers.

Know your fats! According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, fats should make up 20-35% of our total daily calorie intake. Bad fats should make up less than 10% of your daily caloric intake. Make sure you are including healthy fats as often as possible, substituting them for less healthy fats. It is important to reduce the not so healthy fats which are saturated fat and trans fat . See if you can make the 20-35% all good fats. Some of the highest culprit foods for bad fat are processed meat, pastries, pizza, most commercial baked goods, other snack foods, and shortening.

For The next 6 weeks I will be posting recipes that are packed with good fats and low to no bad fats to help increase good and decrease the bad fats in your diet. There are so many easy swap outs to make your favorite "bad foods" healthy and GOOD!