Oils and Fats: a positive light

Getting enough healthy fats and oils is an important part of our diet. Sounds funny I know, but somewhere along the way the message was a little over simplified or got lost in translation. The key is to cut down on 'unhealthy' sources of fat and understand which sources are the healthy ones.

We need healthy fats in our diet to:

• Protect our organs, keep us warm and help our bodies absorb and move nutrients around
• Increase our metabolism, burn fat more quickly, improve insulin resistance
• Make us feel satisfied longer after a meal and reduce our need for snacking

When we eat out it's hard to know what we are getting, but at home we have quite a bit more control. Here is a quick list of healthy oils and fats to have around. The more of these you have, the less room there is for unhealthy options.

Breakfast: Add almond slivers, crushed walnuts, flax seeds or flax oil, to your cereal. Have eggs a couple of times a week. Eggs are packed healthy nutrients and are easier on the digestive system than meat.

Lunch and dinner: Include wild caught salmon in your weekly routine, toss a few canned beans on your salads as well as drizzling olive and walnut oil on salads and cooked veggie dishes.

When sautéing use the following oils to cook:

Low to medium heat - Olive oil

Medium to high heat - Coconut oil

High heat - Grape seed oil

Have the following around for snack time: hummus made with olive oil, avocado or guacamole, and nuts.

This is a very quick summary of a big topic. If you have questions ask in a post, or send me an email. dianaoconnell@yahoo.com