Fat: The Good Versus The Bad
Lowering your total dietary fat and replacing "bad" fats with "better" fats is a key component to improving your health. Below are tips for decreasing the bad fats (saturated and trans fats) and increasing the good fats (omega-3 fatty acids).
Decrease Saturated Fats. In a typical 2,000 calorie diet, you should be eating no more than 15 grams of saturated fat. Look at the table below to see how you can lower your saturated fat intake.
| Amount | Grams, Sat. Fat | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheese | ||
| Regular Cheddar cheese Low-fat Cheddar cheese |
1 oz. 1 oz. |
6.0 1.2 |
| Ground Beef | ||
| Regular ground beef Extra lean ground beef |
3 oz. cooked 3 oz. cooked |
7.2 5.3 |
| Milk | ||
| Whole milk Low-fat (1%) milk |
1 cup 1 cup |
5.1 1.6 |
| Breads | ||
| Croissant Bagel |
1 medium 1 medium |
6.6 0.1 |
| Frozen Desserts | ||
| Regular ice cream Frozen yogurt |
1/2 cup 1/2 cup |
4.5 2.5 |
| Table Spreads | ||
| Butter Olive Oil |
1 tsp. 1 tsp. |
2.4 0.6 |
Also watch food labels for saturated oils like palm oil and coconut oil, which are high in saturated fats.
Decrease Trans Fats. In a 2,000 calorie diet, you should be getting less than 2 grams of trans fat. Read labels to avoid products with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Beware if the product has less than 0.5 gram per serving, it will say 0 on the nutrition facts label.
Increase Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Eat fatty fish, like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon two times a week. Also, include canola and soybean oils, flaxseeds and walnuts.