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Healthy Fats Why You Need to Eat More and Where to Get Them
BY clnAdrian
Is it true that a diet consisting mostly of cheeseburgers and fried chicken will significantly
increase your risk of dying early? Well, technically, yes. While saturated fats aren�t the only
reason, they�re a big contributor. Especially if you�re not eating enough healthy fats
� found in a variety of foods, like nuts, fish, and plants.
Healthy fats are everywhere, and that�s a good thing. The more fatty foods you eat,
the better your health will be. People who follow the Mediterranean diet are often healthier
long-term because of its focus on plant-based foods, fish, and healthy oils. In reality,
fat isn�t bad for you at all. It�s the type of fat, and how much fat you consume,
that matters the most.
So what are the differences between the two main types of fat? What makes healthy fats
so healthy, and which foods are the most beneficial sources? Learn all this, plus how to balance
your fat intake. Not all fat is bad. A mix of different foods is your best bet at living
a long, healthy life. Here is a breakdown of everything you need to know.
The different types of fat You�ve probably heard plenty of times before
not to eat fat, especially something called saturated fat. Are all types of fat as dangerous
and bad for your health as people say? There�s a lot of confusion surrounding dietary fat,
and a lot of misinformation, too. This is likely because people mostly talk about saturated
fat � the �bad� type of fat. They don�t talk quite as much about unsaturated fats
� the �good� types of fat.
There are major differences between the different types of fat. One comes from animals, while
the other comes from plants. One can raise your blood cholesterol, while the other can
lower it. Their properties have different effects on your health. To understand why
healthy fats are so good for you, you need to understand why unhealthy fats, well � aren�t.
Saturated fat This type of fat, called saturated fat, comes
from animal sources, coconut, and palm oils. Saturated fat, solid at room temperature,
raise total blood cholesterol as well as the amount of �bad� cholesterol, which is
why too much can harm your health. As we will discuss later in this article, unsaturated
fats can be harmful if eaten regularly in large amounts, but they�re not the sole
cause of heart disease.
Unsaturated fats Unlike saturated fat, unsaturated fats come
primarily from plant sources, such as seeds or nuts, and are liquid at room temperature.
These fats are either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, which is what you will often see listed among
a food label�s ingredients if they�re present. They lower total blood cholesterol
levels, sometimes raising the amount of �good� cholesterol.
There is technically a third type of fat, called trans fat. Thankfully, more and more
food manufacturers have begun removing trans fat from their products. The FDA no longer
recognizes artificial trans fats as safe for human consumption. Though it can�t hurt
to check your food labels just in case, you won�t find harmful trans fats in most of
your go-to foods.
Benefits of healthy fats The differences between the different types
of fat aren�t as simple as: �Saturated fat is bad, unsaturated fat is good. Eat less
fat and you�ll be fine.� You can�t just stop eating fat altogether and expect to be
able to maintain your health for very long. Your body needs fat for energy, for metabolism,
for keeping you alive. It�s not just about eating less saturated fat. You also have to
eat more unsaturated fat, to take advantage of all its many health benefits.
Increased HDL �good� cholesterol High-density lipoproteins, or HDL, has a very
specific job inside your body. You have two types of cholesterol in your blood, LDL and
HDL. LDLs, if there are too many of them, can cause heart problems. That�s where HDL
comes in. Think of HDLs as microscopic garbage trucks. They find excess LDLs in your blood,
pick them up, and carry them to your liver for disposal. Therefore, HDLs lower the amount
of potentially harmful LDLs in your system, lowering your cholesterol. And what�s the
benefit of that, you might ask?
Decreased heart disease risk Excess LDL cholesterol in your blood � and
not enough HDL � can lead to plaque buildup in your arteries. This, of course, can cause
heart disease, heart attack, and stroke in some people. Your heart depends on your arteries
to be able to pump blood easily throughout your body. When your arteries are coated in
plaque, your heart has to work harder to get its job done. This stresses and tires it out,
which might even eventually cause it to fail completely.
Improved blood sugar control Foods high in unsaturated fats aren�t just
good for your heart. Mayo Clinic suggests a diet that includes healthy fats might reduce
your type 2 diabetes risk. This may in part be because many foods containing healthy fats
are also often high in fiber, which can prevent your blood sugar from spiking. Processed foods,
often high in saturated fats, often contain sugars that cause blood sugar spikes and crashes.
Eating more foods with healthy fats in them, few of which are processed, is better for
your blood sugar, and lowering your diabetes risk.