A Healthy Diet That Includes Fats and Carbohydrates!

When you hear about fats and carbohydrates, chances are you're not hearing anything good. Years ago low fat diets became very popular as everyone thought that fats were the enemy of a healthy diet. Then it was decided that carbohydrates were really the problem and that fats were perfectly fine after all.

In reality, the truth is something of a combination of those two thoughts. There really are no bad foods, just principles to follow when it comes to food choices. There are foods that are of course healthier for you than others, but most foods can be enjoyed in moderation and balance. This is important because you need to follow a healthy diet, not for a week or month, or just for a few months while you try to drop pounds, but is one you can follow for a lifetime.

Fats and carbohydrates both have their role in good nutrition and both are actually important for your health. You really cannot and should not eliminate all fats from your diet since fat is very important for many functions of the body. It helps you to have energy, and also carries important nutrients along such as vitamins D, E and K. It has many different roles in different systems of the body.

Of course, like many things, while some fat is good too much is definitely bad. Too much fat in the body and the diet has been associated with different problems with the heart such as heart disease, with increased risk of stroke and some cancers, and with high cholesterol. It's typically recommended that fat make up less than 20% of your daily calories but shouldn't dip below 10% of those calories either.

And you need to remember that there are different types of fat as well, and some are even less healthier than others. It's believed that saturated fats and trans fats are more harmful than items like polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. You might call these lighter fats and they would include canola oil and olive oil and can be used in a healthy diet.

And for a healthy diet, you need to restrict your use of saturated fats and trans fats as well. These fats turn solid at room temperature and are most often used in what you would call processed foods, meaning cookies, cakes, and baked goods like these. Trans fats are found in foods that are fried such as potato chips. Some of these fats, in moderation, can be fine for a diet but they should be the exceptional treat and not the rule of your diet.

And yes, there is such as thing as good fats. Omega-3 fatty acids is one such good fat. This is typically found in fish and these fatty acids are thought to prevent heart disease and may even lower cholesterol levels.

One way you can help yourself to control your daily intake of fat and cholesterol is to start reading those labels on food items. These labels can help tremendously but of course, not if you don't take the time to read them! They can give you a lot of good information about not just the calorie counts but also the fat grams, the amount of sodium in the foods, and also the levels of vitamins, minerals, and other healthy items - if they're in there at all!

And carbohydrates too are found in many different food items, but again, some will be a healthier choice than others. For example, you can find carbohydrates in whole wheat bread and in cupcakes. Obviously one is the basis for a healthy diet and one should be chosen only on occasion as a rare treat!

Carbohydrates can also be found in fruits and vegetables as well as in dairy products, including milk and cheese. These and those fats we mentioned above are very important to your healthy diet.

When it comes to items like carbohydrates in the diet, it's often good to take a "less is more" approach. Think of items that are less refined; this means whole grain breads rather than white bread, which has been processed to an inch of its life! Refining flour products means removing much of their nutritional content as well.

And there are some other elements that also should be considered when it comes to a healthy diet, including sugar and salt. Most people consume far too much of each, and both are culprits in the obesity epidemic that's so prevalent today. Also included with obesity are cases of heart disease and many other serious ailments. If you limit both salt and sugar and choose those good fats and those unprocessed, whole grain carbohydrates, you can get the most nutritional value from your food and follow a healthy diet for life.

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