Facts About Fat
Mayo Clinic Health Information News
Wednesday, May 30, 2001
Facts About Fat
ROCHESTER, MINN. -- "Americans eat too much fat." "Eat as little fat as possible." "Eat more of some kinds of fat."
Are you confused about the seemingly contradictory information about fat in the media? You’re not alone. It’s enough to make you throw your hands in the air and start eating whatever you want. But don’t cave in to the pressure. According to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource, there is plenty of reliable information available to make wise choices about fat intake. Here are the latest facts about fat.
Low-fat diets were once all the rage. However, these diets often failed to emphasize the importance of total caloric intake. When fat is cut from a diet, it should be replaced with fruits, vegetables and grains. Instead many people replaced fatty foods with fat-free, high-calorie options that sabotaged their weight loss attempts. In fact, in recent years fat intake in America fell, but obesity was still on the rise.
What’s more, extremely low-fat diets can interfere with your health. It’s possible to cut so much fat from your diet that you can’t absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
The key to eating fat, losing weight and staying healthy is to focus on eating monounsaturated fats. These are found in olive and canola oils, fish and some vegetables. These fats may lower your cholesterol, and, when used in moderation, shouldn’t interfere with healthy weight loss.
Stay away from saturated fats (found in red meat, dairy products and coconut and palm oils) and avoid trans fats (found in many processed foods including margarine and chips). These can raise your cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease.
The upper limit of fat intake, as recommended by the American Heart Association, is 30 percent of your total daily calories, with no more than 8 to 10 percent of total calories coming from saturated fats.
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