At work I hear a lot of people talking about fats and how to avoid them and low fats etc, it seems that there is little understanding on how fats are important to us and what fats to consume and avoid.

When looking at food ingredients it is important to know that certain foods are high in fat such as nuts, seeds and pulses to name but a few, these foods are high in HDL (High Density Lipoprotein), this is very good for you as it basically helps break down bad fatty build ups in your arteries and helps carry vitamins and minerals through your system. HDL is high in monounsturates and polyunsaturates

Because Nuts are a natural food the fat is a healthy natural fat that your body requires.

That is where we come onto the bad fat LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) this fat is a slow working fat that basically clogs up your arteries and has very little goodness if any, this fat is common in snack food such as buns, cakes, biscuits and other foods.

The fat that is absolutely no way healthy or has any nutritional value at all are trans fats which means transformed from its natural state, these fats are mostly found in hydrogentaed foods, the reason for this is for a longer shelflife on supermarket shelves, t is an additive so avoid these fats altogether.

Obviously it is difficult to know what foods have these ingredients as the nutritional table does not show this information.

Always remember that natural foods are untouched by human hand and will have some form of goodness, foods that are high in sugar and fat have to be able to sustain the taste on the supermarket shelf so they will mostly have trans fats in them.

Poultry, fish, veg, nuts/seeds/lentls, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, wholoemeal bread (from the bakery is best).

Always try to read the ingredients if you can as there will be some information on the packets.

Looking at the weight of fat in foods, remember that if it says 12g fat and 6g saturated fat that would not be as healthy as an item that says 18g fat 3g saturated fat.  Even thought the fat amount on the latter is greater it is lower in satruated fat.

Just a little more info, do you know that your organs have lining on the outside that is made up of saturated fat, this is to protect them, which measn that saturated fat is good for you IN MODERATION.

Always remember that foods are as important as anything else, your lifestyle will reflect how you look.