Swapping the bad fats in our daily diet for good fats, can be easy! Before we proceed we must first know what our bad fats are and good fats are.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good fats because they do not increase your total cholesterol. The best part is they actually lower your LDL, which is your bad cholesterol, at the same time increasing your HDL or good cholesterol. Do not forget they are still fat! Even though they are good for you and may be healthier for you, you must still watch your intake or you will gain weight.

Monounsaturated fats can be found in: olive oil, fish oil, peanut oil, and canola oil

Polyunsaturated fats are found in: albacore tuna, salmon, herring, mackerel, rainbow trout, sardines, sunflower oil, canola oil, and flaxseed

Saturated fats or bad fats are hard to avoid! We see business selling it on every corner with they’re golden arches or dollar menu signs. Saturated fat are the main dietry cause for high blood cholesterol.  These fats are bad because they raise your LDL (bad cholesterol). Trans fat and hydrogenated fats are synthetic fats that have been created to give some food a long shelf life. These should not be eaten! Eliminate processed food, stick butter, margarine, vegetable shortening and anything made with these ingredients, such as french fries! YUCK! You will feel like a whole new person once you’ve conquered processed foods.

Saturated fats can be found in: meat, poultry skin, butter, egg yolks, whole milk, cheese, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil.

The American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee strongly advises these fat guidelines for anyone over the age of two:

1. Limit total fat intake to less than 25-35% of your total calories a day

2. Saturated fats: Less than 7% of your total daily calories

3. Trans Fat: Needs to be less than 1% of your total daily calories

4. All remaining fat should come from monounstaurated and polyunsaturated fats.

Most people should limit their cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day. If you have coronary heart disease or your LDL cholesterol level is 100 mg/dL or greater, limit your cholesterol intake to less than 200 milligrams a day.

Replacing the bad fats in your diet with good fats doesn’t have to be hard. Here are a few ways to to get the benefits your body deserves, satisfy your taste buds, and still enjoy the flavor of your food!

1. Instead of using butter or margarine on your food, swap it for extra-virgin olive oil or flaxseed oil with a sprinkle of salt. Taste great on veggies too!

2. Skip prepackaged potato chips for sunflower seeds or almonds! Bonus! They’re high in protein!

3. Switch your cooking oil to canola, extra-virgin olive oil, or grapeseed.

4. A recipe calls for vegetable shortening, no problem! Substitute half as much virgin olive oil with a dash of salt and your ready to go!

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