Healthier Fats

Simply put, your body needs fat. It is crucial to supplying energy, helps process vitamins and delivers essential fatty acids that your body needs but cannot make itself.

While much debated in the healthcare and dietary sectors, the fact that fat is a helpful part of your diet is starting to gain major traction.

Where the dietary recommendations get muddled is in just how much fat you need, as well as what kinds are suggested as regular additions to your intake. When it comes to breast cancer, researchers have not been able to pinpoint a certain behavior that causes the disease. However, many have determined that a diet containing healthy fats can have great benefits in reducing your risk.

WHY FAT IS IMPORTANT

In the past, many studies concluded that it’s best to avoid fats when it comes to your diet. Did you know that there are certain fats that can promote your well-being?

Your body counts on vitamins A, D, E and K to operate properly. The only way these vitamins are able to be absorbed is with the help of fats. Eating foods that boast “unsaturated fats” will allow your body to process the vitamins without the harmful risks of a diet high in “saturated fats.”

INCORPORATING HEALTHY FATS

While diet alone will likely not cause or cure cancer, it is a factor that needs to be on your healthcare radar.

The Harvard School of Public Health has compiled the following tips on how to use fats to your advantage;

• Avoid packaged food that is labeled “0g of Trans Fat.”

• At least one meal a day should be packed with Omega-3, which can be found in salmon, walnuts and tuna.

• Lower your intake of saturated fat by eating chicken and fish instead of red meat and cheese.

• Read labels. Even if a food claims to be low fat, it may still include bad fats such as saturated and trans fats.