By Daniel Rosenfeld
“Wow, ten grams of fat? I’m not eating this!”
Absurd statements like this just drive me crazy because not all fat is unhealthy! A person can properly understand which fats are healthy and unhealthy by properly understanding nutrition facts.
Total fat is the amount of fat in a food and tells you absolutely nothing about how nutritious that food is. Fat is divided into two categories: saturated and unsaturated.
Saturated fat is also known as artery-clogging fat. It raises LDL cholesterol and increases the risk of heart disease and strokes.
Unsaturated fat, also known as healthy fat, lowers LDL cholesterol and decreases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Saturated fat and unsaturated fat have completely opposite effects on your body. To put them into the same category and to say that all fats are unhealthy is ridiculous.
Some foods high in unsaturated fat are nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado, peanut butter, and fish. Olive oil, for example, is loaded with unsaturated fat and antioxidants that help combat high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease. Try substituting it for any butter added into foods.
Although it is high in calories, peanut butter is loaded with unsaturated fat and is very heart-healthy. A two-tablespoon serving contains 13 grams of unsaturated fat and only 3 grams of saturated fat. Many people eat reduced fat peanut butter to save calories, but they’re actually just depriving themselves of healthy fat. Also, reduced fat peanut butter, like other reduced fat products, is made with additional sugar to improve its flavor. As a result, going with full fat peanut butter can deliver more than just a creamier taste.
Saturated fat has given all fats a bad reputation and has blinded people from the great benefits of unsaturated fat. Fat can be healthy; just choose the right kind of it!