Learning How To Reduce Fat In Your Diet And Eat Healthier

May 8, 2011

A basic understanding of nutrition could really help a lot of people out. Fad diets that introduce the idea that carbs are bad, or low-fat is king, are doing everyone who is trying to eat better a disservice. Eating healthier isn’t about how to reduce fat in your diet, though this can be an important part of an effort to eat better. Eating healthier is about learning how to balance your intake of foods, and that most foods have their good and bad points.

There are two general types of fats– unsaturated and saturated. Most saturated fat is animal fat, and most unsaturated fat is plant fat, though there are a few major exceptions. Saturated fat is bad for you, and should be reduced or eliminated from your diet. Unsaturated fat is good for you, can reduce cholesterol and improve heart health, and is absolutely essential for human function.

Fish are the major exception to the ‘animal fat equals saturated’ equation. Fish oils and other unsaturated fats are generally good for you in modest quantities, though they can be detrimental to your overall health if you eat too much and begin to gain weight. In general, if it is a liquid at room temperature, a fat is likely unsaturated.

Replacing saturated fats like butter, cheese and meat with unsaturated fats like oils and fish are important steps to living healthier. Making a choice like having olive oil and herb pasta instead of alfredo sauce can be a great step. Eliminating high-fat salad dressings that get their fat from dairy (saturated fats) and replacing them with vinegrettes that get their fat from oils (unsaturated) is a good idea, too.

While it is a complicated subject, there is a legitimate reason to reduce the overall fat content of your diet, as well as the saturated fat content. Even ‘good’ fats are high in calories, carrying more than twice as many per ounce as a protein or carbohydrate would. Eating less fats and focusing on healthier fats together is a good plan for better nutrition.

If you choose to purchase lower fat versions of foods from the store, read the labels carefully. A lot of times, the low-fat version has replaced the fat with sugar, which may or may not decrease the calories, but probably isn’t any better for you. Eating excessive amounts of sugar has been implicated in just as many future health issues as overeating fats, including some of the same ones.

In order to reduce fat at home, you can simply remove some of it. Many baked goods will turn out almost exactly the same with one-quarter to one-third less fat than the recipe calls for. If the overall amount in the recipe is relatively small, no substitution is needed. If the amount of fat is larger, or you want to reduce it further than this, some people swear by using applesauce as a butter or oil replacement in baked items.

For non-baked goods, consider herbs and spices as replacements for fat. Less fatty food is less interesting to the human tastebuds, so making it more flavorful with spices, herbs, and garnishes can make the meal a better success. Just remember– eating healthy is about balancing your diet, not demonizing one group or another as always bad or always good.

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