Fats, the one thing that
no one likes. Here we will teach you how to avoid things that will
make you plump.
Eat
a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. I¡¯m sure you have heard this so
often that you can even recite it in your dreams. It has much become
our way of life, with parents advising us to eat less fatty food and
¡°healthy life¡± campaigns ranting about it.
Unfortunately, this simple message is now largely out of date. Detailed
research shows that the total amount of fat in the diet, whether high
or low, isn't really linked with disease! What really matters is the
type of fat in the diet.
Research also showed
that eating a low-fat diet for years did not prevent heart disease,
breast cancer, or colon cancer, and didn't do much for weight loss,
either.
What
is becoming clearer and clearer is that bad fats, meaning saturated
and trans fats, increase the risk for certain diseases while good
fats, meaning monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, lower the
risk.
The
key is to substitute good fats for bad fats.
And what about cholesterol
in food? Although it is still important to limit the amount of cholesterol
your eat, especially if you have diabetes, dietary cholesterol isn't
nearly the villain it's been portrayed to be. Cholesterol in the bloodstream
is what's most important. High blood cholesterol levels greatly increase
the risk for heart disease. But the average person makes about 75%
of blood cholesterol in his or her liver, while only about 25% is
absorbed from food. The biggest influence on blood cholesterol level
is the mix of fats in the diet.