Firstly, all fats are not created equal. Some fats are better for you than others and may even help to promote good health.
There are four main types of fats:
- Monounsaturated fats
- Polyunsaturated fats
- Saturated fats
- Trans fats
You should aim to replace saturated and trans fats with healthy, unsaturated fats as part of a healthy diet.
Unsaturated fats can help improve cholesterol levels by decreasing bad (LDL)cholesterol and increasing good (HDL) cholesterol. Low LDL cholesterol levels can help lower your risk of heart disease.
Foods that contain healthy fats include:
- Avocados
- Unsalted nuts such as almonds, cashews, and peanuts
- Olives
- Cooking oils made from plants or seeds, including olive, canola, peanut, sunflower, soybean, sesame, and safflower.
- Fish
- Tahini (sesame seed spread)
- Linseed (flaxseed) and chia seeds
- Soybean, sunflower, safflower, canola oil and margarine spreads made from these oils
- Plant sterols are cholesterol-like substances that can lower cholesterol levels. They are found naturally in foods such as:
- Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and cereals.
Avoid saturated fats
Foods that commonly contain saturated fats include:
- Butter, coconut oil and palm oil (often called vegetable oil in products)
- Processed foods, such as biscuits, cakes, pastries, pies, and takeaway foods
- Lard, ghee, copha, dripping
- Fat on meat and the skin on chicken and other poultry
- Processed or deli-style meats, such as salami, ham, and bacon
- Cream and ice cream
Avoid trans fats
Most of the trans fats eaten in Australia are from processed foods.
Some trans-fat-containing foods to avoid include:
- Deep-fried foods
- Biscuits, cakes & pastries
- Butter
- Takeaway foods, such as hamburgers, pizza &hot chips
- Foods that list ‘hydrogenated oils’ or ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oils’ on the ingredients list
9 easy ways to get the right balance of fats
Nuts, nuts, nuts
Include a handful of nuts (30g) every day. You can add them to salads, yoghurt, cereal, salads, and stir-fries. Choose unsalted, dry roasted or raw varieties. Nuts are a good source of monounsaturated fats, and omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats.
Serve up some fish
Include fish or seafood in your family meals 2-3 times a week for a dose of omega 3.
Use healthier oils
Some oils are more suited to cooking and others help add flavour to foods.
For salad dressings and low-moderate temperature cooking (e.g., stir frying or warming food in a pan) choose olive, extra virgin olive, peanut, canola, sunflower, safflower, avocado or sesame oil.
For high-temperature cooking, especially frying, choose extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil or canola oil, which are more stable at high temperatures.
Make sure to store oils away from direct sunlight and don’t re-use oils that have already been heated.
Use healthier fat spreads
Up to 50 per cent of the fat content in butter is saturated fat and 4 per cent is trans-fat. Swap to nut butters, avocado, tahini, or margarine made from olive, canola, sunflower oils.
Limit junk food and unhealthy takeaways
Foods like biscuits, cakes, pastries, pizza, deep-fried and takeaway add the most saturated and trans-fat to Australian diets.
Trim visible fat
Cut off any fat and skin from meat, game, and poultry. This helps limit saturated and trans-fat.
Avoid processed meat
Swap processed meat such as salami and bacon with healthy protein sources, such as chickpeas, roasted or grilled meats, eggs, or canned tuna or salmon.
Eat more legumes
Eat more legumes (such as like beans, lentils, and chickpeas). Try to include legumes in at least two meals a week. Eating these in place of meat and poultry helps to limit saturated and trans-fat.
Become an avid food label reader
Check the ingredient list on food products for ‘hydrogenated oils’ or ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oils’. You should avoid these foods as they contain unhealthy trans-fats.
