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The Cardiac Clinic for a healthy heart Phone 0508 CARDIAC (0508 227 342) www.thecardiacclinic.co.nz Fats in the diet In our food there are “good fats” and there are “bad fats”. Saturated fat is classified as a “bad fat”. Unsaturated fats are classified as “good fats” What is Saturated Fat? Despite saturated fats being called “bad” our body does need some saturated fat. Saturated fat is responsible for certain things such as keeping our skin and hair healthy. It is the excess eating of saturated fat that makes it a “bad fat”. We only require 50 – 55g of total fat per day in our daily diet of which no more than a third should be saturated fat (between 16 – 18g). Often saturated fats are the fats that are solid at room temperature, the more solid it is, the more saturated it is. Examples of this are lard, the fat on beef, mutton, chicken and pork. Not all saturated fats are solid. Examples of this are milk products, nuts, and oils such as peanut, coconut and palm oil. Why is Saturated Fat Bad for Us? Saturated fat is turned into cholesterol by our liver. We use cholesterol to maintain healthy cells, digest fat, make hormones and absorb some vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E and K) from the food we take in. It also helps make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight. There is the “good” cholesterol called High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and the “bad” cholesterol called low density lipoporotein (LDL). When the body has too much of the “bad” cholesterol there are health problems. The “bad” cholesterol causes plaque to build up in our arteries causing blockages and it is these blockages that can affect our heart health (heart attacks) and our brains (strokes). What Food Contains Saturated fat? • Foods from animal sources (all meat and chicken products) • Milk and milk products • Eggs • Plant sources (coconut/coconut oil; palm oil; peanuts/peanut oil, most nuts) How can I avoid saturated fat? • Choose lean cuts of meat and ensure you cut off all visible fat • Do not eat the skin off the chicken • Grill or bake food, don’t fry or roast in fat • Swap red meat for fish at least twice a week • Use low-fat dairy products (such as green-top milk, low-fat yoghurt, cottage cheese, low fat cheese). Unless you have intolerances to dairy products don’t cut them out of your diet. They do have many health “goodies” in them such as calcium, protein, and vitamins B and D. Just select the low-fat products. • Use olive oil, avocado or rice bran oil for cooking and dressings rather than peanut oil; palm oil, butter or coconut oil • Read food labels and avoid products that have more than 3g saturated fat per 100g (remember the daily allowance of between 16 and 18g saturated fat) • Swap butter for olive oil or rice bran oil based spreads • Eat a high fibre diet such as wholegrain bread, legumes, fruit and vegetables. Fibre helps rid the body of fats The Good Fats: The good fats are the polyunsaturated and the monounsaturated fats. We need these fats in similar amounts (about 18-20g per day of each type). Both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats appear to be equally effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein (the bad cholesterol) cholesterol levels when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. Polyunsaturated fat is made up of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids help protect the body from inflammation when in balance with omega-6 intake. They both help with combating heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. Omega-3 is found in fish oil, flax oil, walnuts, soy beans and deep sea fish such as salmon, sardines and Chinook. Omega-6 is found in walnuts, pistachios, almonds, sesame seeds, watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, cashews, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, peanuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds and hazelnuts. Monounsaturated fats lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). They are found in nuts such as walnuts, almonds and pistachios, avocado, canola and olive oil.