February – Heart Health Awareness
Month
- Fat affects your cholesterol – both LDL (bad)
and HDL (good)
- Depending on the type of fat you eat, there is a
different affect on the different types of cholesterol
- Saturated fat is fat that is typically found in
animal products. Chemically, this fatty acid contains all the hydrogen it can
hold. Whereas unsaturated fatty acids do not contain as much hydrogen.
- Fat is important to help you feel full and
satisfied, help absorb vitamins A,D,E and K, healthy skin and hair, maintaining
body temperature and for healthy cell function
Limit Saturated and Trans Fat
- Saturated and trans fats have both been shown to increase total cholesterol,
increase LDL ("bad") cholesterol and decrease HDL ("good") cholesterol.
- Traditionally trans fat has been added to food to increase a product's shelf life
and is formed when liquid fat is turned into a solid through a process called hydrogenation.
- Trans
fat is commonly found in stick margarine, shortening, some fried foods and
processed foods made with partially
hydrogenated oils.
- Even if a label says it contains zero grams of trans fat, you still want to check the
label for hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil because the product can be
labeled "zero grams trans fat" if it
has less than 0.5 grams per serving. However, this can add up over time!
- Try using cooking spray, tub margarines, olive
or canola oil
Eat More Omega-3
fats/unsaturated fats
- Unlike saturated and trans fat, omega-3 unsaturated fats are good for your heart.
- They are also essential fats because our bodies
cannot make them on their own, so we have to get them from food.
- Omega-3s have been shown to help lower
cholesterol, lower high blood pressure and help prevent heart disease.
- Peanut
butter, olive oil, canola oil, tub margarines, fish
Try replacing butter with heart healthy olive or canola oil
Snack on nuts, seeds and peanut butter. Try to eat fish 2
times per week.
You should still try to limit your total fat intake to
25-35% of your daily calories. This means if you eat 2,000 calories per day,
you should be eating about 50-75 grams of fat per day.
Make your own salad dressing!
- Oils: use canola or olive. Use a
moderately priced, not expensive, oil because you will lose the flavor you pay
for with the other seasonings.
- Acid: vinegar, citrus
- Sweet: honey, maple syrup, apple juice,
OJ concentrate, jam
- Salt
- Aromatics: herbs, shallots, citrus
peel, black pepper, garlic, basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro, mint, parsley,
dill
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