Partners for Your Health Blog

The Facts About Fats For Healthy Diets

There is a place for fat in your diet. And when using the right fats in the best possible ways, you will be nourishing yourself! Good fats transport fat-soluble vitamins and give your body a concentrated source of energy. They help you feel satisfied and full after eating. Bad fats contribute to heart disease because they increase blood cholesterol levels. High cholesterol leads to the hardening of the arteries, which contributes to heart disease.

But it can be difficult to figure out which are the healthy fats and which are the ones to avoid. There are monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fats, saturated fats and trans fats. The good ones are the monounsaturated fats, which come from most nuts, canola, peanut, olive oils and avocados, and the polyunsaturated fats, which come from corn, safflower, soybean oils and fish.

The bad fats are the saturated fats, which come from whole milk, cheese, butter, coconut oil and meats; and trans-fats, which include shortening, most margarines, partially hydrogenated oil and most commercially baked goods.

Here are a few ways to keep them straight:

• If it has “un” in it, it’s un-fattening!
• If you put them in alphabetical order, the first two—monounsaturated and polyunsaturated – are the good ones, and the last two—saturated and transfats—are bad.
• The more liquid a fat is at room temperature, the more healthful. So, instead of using solid vegetable shortening, use liquid oils for cooking.

When choosing healthier foods, go for foods that have been broiled instead of fried, replace margarine with real butter, or even better, with extra-virgin olive oil, look for products which don’t use trans fats or saturated fats, eat more low-fat dairy and lean meats and be aware of the ingredients and serving sizes for foods such as salad dressing, nuts, sandwich spreads.

For more info, read FAT: TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT?

Slow Food is Good for us All & Our Heart Health

There are a lot of health problems associated with fast food. If you’ve seen the movie Super Size Me, you know that a diet of fast food almost killed the man. An article “Why Fast Food is Bad for You” put it this way:

“It places you at risk of strokes from high blood pressure, type II diabetes from irregular blood sugar levels, heart attacks from raised LDL cholesterol levels, cancer of the colon because it cannot process the waste products properly, more frequent illness as your immune system is compromised and a greater chance of contracting other cancers as your levels of antioxidants is so low”

So what’s the answer? Slow food! Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. This non-profit organization founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, believes that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.

Concerned with the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat (like where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world) they began a movement founded upon the concept of eco-gastronomy – a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.

Slow Food believes the enjoyment of excellent food and drink should be combined with efforts to save the countless traditional grains, vegetables, fruits, animal breeds and food products that are disappearing due to the prevalence of convenience food and industrial agribusiness.

They’ve spearheaded several successful campaigns to raise awareness about food issues over the years. Read more on their Slow Food & Terra Madre Newsletter or at Sloweb!

Education About Heart Disease Risk Factors

Every one runs the risk of getting heart disease, and the level of risk differs from one person to the next, based on a number of factors. Some of these are things we cannot control – such as family history of heart disease, or genetic predisposition.

But the good news is that most are factors we can control – such as cholesterol levels, smoking, blood pressure, diet and activity levels – through lifestyle changes or, if necessary, treatment therapies in partnership with your cardiologist. And here’s even better news: By taking control of your heart health, you can greatly lower your risk of getting heart disease!

The first step is to understand the most common risk factors known to be associated with heart disease, so that you can adjust your behavior to improve your chances of keeping or improving your heart health.

That’s what Cardiosmart.org had to say, and they offer a series of videos to educate you on:

• LDL
• High Blood Pressure
• HDL
• Triglycerides
• Smoking
• Family History
• What are the different types of fat?

Plus these on-line risk assessment tools:

• CardioSmart BMI Calculator
• Heart Disease Risk Assessment

Family Doctor.org also encourages you to know your risk factors. In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women and men. Take a moment to consider your lifestyle, family history and general health. Risk factors for heart disease include:

• Age
• Family history
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Poor diet
• Excess weight
• Inactivity (sedentary lifestyle)
• Other health problems (such as diabetes)

They offer additional information, so you and your family doctor can assess your risk and make a plan to tackle potential problems.