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A low-fat diet can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and cancer. It’s important to replace bad fats with good fats found in foods like olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish. Fruits and vegetables should also be included in the diet.
It is widely believed that most people should eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. Many health professionals believe that a diet high in certain types of fat and cholesterol can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer. The challenge many people face when trying to reduce the amount of fat in their diet is finding suitable low-fat foods to replace the high-fat foods they have become accustomed to.
When switching to a diet of low-fat foods, it is important for a person to know that a “low-fat” diet does not mean a “fat-free” diet. Some fats, such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, contain essential fatty acids that the human body needs to function properly. These fats can actually lower the amount of bad cholesterol (HDL) and increase the amount of good cholesterol (LDL) in the body. Some sources of “good fats” are olive oil, canola oil, certain nuts like walnuts, almonds, pistachios, avocados, and fatty fish like salmon.
The key to a low-fat diet is to reduce the amounts of saturated fat and trans fat, while replacing foods with bad fats with foods that have good fats. Saturated and trans fats are found primarily in animal products such as meat, eggs, dairy products, fried foods, and many prepackaged convenience foods. The consumer is advised to carefully check the ingredient label of the food. Any ingredient labeled “partially hydrogenated” or “hydrogenated” means that the food product contains trans fat.
In addition to reducing the amount of foods with saturated and trans fats, a low-fat diet should include plenty of fruits and vegetables. While most fruits are recommended, certain fruits like watermelons, cantaloupe, dates, and blueberries are lower in fat than others. Vegetables that are especially recommended are dark green vegetables such as broccoli, romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, and watercress.
A diet consisting of low-fat foods does not necessarily mean a diet devoid of flavor. Conversely, many people who reduce the amount of high-fat foods in their diet find the transition much easier than initially thought. There are many resources available with helpful advice and recommendations for the person looking to transition to a low-fat diet.
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