Do you know the differences of good fats and bad fats? Don’t worry: you’re not alone.
Many people assume that fat is all bad. The truth is that your body needs fat in order to stay energized, improve skin health, and thicken blood for clotting if you get hurt. These are all very important. Good fats in your diet are just as important as good vitamins or even protein.
Look for polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and omega-3 fats. These are the fats that you want to stick to. Look more for Omega-3s than Omega-6s. Omega-3s help improve liver function, blood flow, and reduce the risk of heart disease. Experts recommend that for every 4 parts of Omega-3 fat, consume 1 part Omega-6 fat.
Below is a good fats list that you should consider when planning meals. Good fats can be a great benefit to your overall health.
List of Foods with Good Fats
- Fish – Any coldwater fish has a lot of Omega-3s. Why do so many people not get enough omega-3s? They just don’t eat as much fish as they should. Fish is not the only good fat out there, but it does have a lot of flavor and is very filling. The nice thing about fish is that it doesn’t all taste the same. For example, salmon tastes different than tuna and tuna tastes different than cod.
- Almonds – Almonds are a great source of monounsaturated fat and help to increase good cholesterol levels. A lot of people think that walnuts are the only nut that they should be eating; a mix of almonds and walnuts will give you the good fat that your body needs.
- Avocados – This is another great source of monounsaturated fat. The best part about avocados is that they help lower the risk of heart disease. With most good fats you will be improving your overall health by getting rid of a lot of high cholesterol foods. It is also important to understand that avocados are not just there for good fats. They also contain many valuable nutrients that your body needs to function.
- Spinach – Did you know that switching to spinach instead of lettuce is a great way to improve your health? Lettuce has some good nutrients; however, it doesn’t offer the good fats that spinach offers. It is a good idea to add small portions of spinach to your food. This will enhance the flavor and increase the nutrients that you consume.
These are just some of the good fats that you should be eating.
There are a lot of foods out there that have good fats in them, but it is just as important to mix in good fats with the other food groups in order to have a healthy and balanced diet.