What are healthy fats?

For many years, people thought that CUTTING FATS intake was the way to go if you want to reduce weight and become more healthy.

Here is an interesting fact: Obesity increased, almost doubled in the last 20 years, in the USA. Coincidentally, this is also the time when “low fat” diets were introduced. For those of you who remember, low-fat butter, low-fat potato chips, low-fat this and low-fat that.

Today, knowledge has increased and we now know that the type of fats you take is probably more important than blindly cutting down. Another fact that has surfaced over the years, fats are filling. They make you feel less hungry and therefore, less likely to stuff yourself beyond your calorie needs.

The reason that the low-fat revolution failed was simple. People replaced their fat intake with easily digested carbohydrates and “fat free” products that incorporated more sugars and carbohydrates.

Healthy fats are necessary for us. In the past, before all the processed foods, natural fats contained healthy fats, mostly. Today, it is hard to find true natural fats. Your best bet would be to go for unsaturated fats, these are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These types of fats can lower your LDL Cholesterol levels and help to reduce overall fat levels in your body.

In fact, there is one type of fat that has been found to be actually beneficial for your heart. This type of polyunsaturated fat, known as omega-3 fatty acids, have been found to be especially beneficial to your heart. Apparently, Omega-3s seems to be able to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease. If you are wondering why we cannot eliminate fat from our diet and be done with, here are some areas where fats play an important role:

• Brain –60% of the brain is made up of fats and it is essential to brain functions. Pregnant women need more fats, since they are vital for fetal brain development.
• Heart – 60% of the heart’s energy is from fats. Specific fats like Omega-3 also help keep the heart beating in a regular rhythm.
• Nerves – Fats compose the material that insulates and protects the nerves, isolating electrical impulses and speeding their transmission.
• Lungs – the lining of the lungs requires a high concentration of saturated fats and this enables the lungs to work and keep them from collapsing.
• Digestion – Without Fats to slow down the digestion process the body might not have enough time to absorb nutrients. Also, fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) can only be absorbed if fat is present.
• Organs – Fats form a cushion and protect your internal organs.

There are many more uses of fats. You can read more about Fats in other sites:
http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115936.php