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PARENTS' CORNER |
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Dietary Fats:
The good, the bad and the ugly
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Did you know that the types
of fats you eat are more important to your health than the total amount
of fat in your diet? Eating foods rich in plant and fish oils and low in
fats from animal sources (saturate fat) and trans fat,
reduces the risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, both of which can
begin developing during childhood. Making simple changes in your food
habits can make a big difference for health.
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UNSATURATED FATS
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What: |
Oils
found in plant and fish foods. |
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Where: |
Vegetable oils (olive, canola, etc.), fish,
nuts, seeds, peanut and other nut butters. |
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Eat MORE of these |
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Eat LOW or NON fat dairy, lean meats.
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SATURATED FATS - "The Bad" |
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What: |
Fats
found mostly in animal foods. |
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Where: . |
Whole
milk, cheese butter, ice cream, red meat, sour
cream, lard, coconut and palm oils. |
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TRANS FATS - "The Ugly" |
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What: |
Vegetable oils that are
chemically changed
to increase the shelf life of
processed foods.
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Where: |
Fast foods, snacks (cookies,
crackers, etc.), baked goods, and stick margarines. |
AVOID these
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Tips for making changes
at home
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Select
dairy products made with 1% or non-fat milk,
instead of whole or 2% milk. |
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Substitute fish, chicken, legumes, nuts and seeds
for red meat at meal times. |
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Limit
fast food meals to 1-2 week. |
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Cook
with liquid oils and tub margarine instead of
butter, stick margarine or lard. |
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Read
food labels to select foods with
NO transfat.*
Avoid foods with "partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil* or "shortening"
ion the ingredients list. |
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*By 2006, food labels
must declare grams of trans fat. |
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For more
information check out
Provided by the Prevention Research Center at
Harvard
School of Public Health
©2005, President and
Fellows of Harvard College
Harvard Prevention Research Center |
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