5 Tips For Integrating Fat Into Your Diet

Our body needs essential fatty acids to give cells to flexible and solid membranes. But how to choose the right fat?

1. Avoid saturated fats

Avoid consuming too much saturated fat, found in fatty meats and cold cuts, cakes and pastries, butter and cream. These fats are solid or semi-solid at room temperature and increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

• Avoid fries and donuts.
• To return or grill foods, choose an oil that is good for heating: olive, soy or safflower oil.
• Opt for monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, or polyunsaturated fats, such as sunflower or canola oil, which are liquid at room temperature.
• Fats and oils rich in omega-3 are the best: nut oils, soy, wheat germ.
• Add each day the equivalent of one tablespoon of olive oil (first cold pressed) per person in your salad dressings or fillet on vegetables, for a contribution of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

2. Eat more fish

Eat more freshwater fish, such as salmon or trout. They contain beneficial fatty acids, the omega-3s, which are essential to the constitution of our nervous system and contribute to lowering the “bad” cholesterol.

3. Eat less meat and dairy products

• Reduce your intake of whole milk dairy products high in saturated fat. Prefer skim milk, yogurt with 0% fat and ricotta.
• Minimize your intake of animal fat. For example, eliminate the skin of poultry.

4. Watch out for processed dishes

Carefully read the labels of food products, especially cookies, canned goods and ready-made meals, to track down “bad” fats.

• To avoid: palm oil, animal margarine and mayonnaise.
• Be aware that processed foods “baked” or “grilled” can be high in fat.
• Also avoid anything that contains a high proportion of hydrogenated fats or “trans” fatty acids, saturated fat, harmful to health.

5. The potato chips

If you can not do without potato chips, look for chips in olive oil without hydrogenated vegetable oil.

In short, choose unsaturated fats rather than saturated fats, which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.