Healthy fats

It is usual to think that fats are bad for our health. However, this becomes a serious error, especially when the person does not consume the recommended amount of daily fat.

Unlike what many people tend to think, the truth is that fats are an essential nutrient for our body, as important as proteins and carbohydrates, since they are essential to comply with certain functions of our body, such as:

Build cell membranes, nerve tissue and hormones.
Its use by our body as energy or fuel.
They provide essential fatty acids, which are involved in child development and growth.
They help transport and digest vitamins A, D, E and K.
Fatty acids participate in blood coagulation or regulation and control of blood pressure.

Therefore it is essential to be clear that fats are essential for our body, but obviously it is not worth consuming any type of fat, just as it is not healthy to opt for any food rich in fat, given that nutritionally speaking its virtues or negative effects are not They will be the same.

What are healthy fats?

Healthy fats are those that belong to the group of so-called unsaturated fats.

These types of fats are pure fats, which means that they have not been transformed before by any other body or industrial process, so that they are available so that our body can transform them and take advantage of them according to their needs.

Where do we find healthy fats?

We find healthy fats in foods of plant origin, such as olive oil, or also in the fish. With regard to the vegetable oils, we can find unsaturated fats in the oil of avocado, soy, sunflower or corn.

Although meats are generally rich in saturated fats (a type of fats less recommended), chicken or rabbit meat are rich in unsaturated fats.

Next we help you discover where to find healthy fats:

Vegetable oils: like virgin olive oil, or sunflower, soy, corn or peanut oils.
Fruits: especially avocado, rich in oleic acid.
Fish: highlights especially blue fish, especially rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Certain meats: especially those considered as White meats, as is the case with chicken or rabbit meat.

You can know more in our special about foods rich in healthy fats.

Benefits of healthy fats

Moderately consumed, we must not forget that fats are essential for the proper functioning of our body, as they perform certain functions and participate in many others every day.

Following a diet rich in healthy fats helps us avoid cardiovascular disease, due above all to its cleansing virtues of the blood, for that reason they are so recommended fats in case of high cholesterol levels or high triglycerides.

In summary, the main properties of healthy fats They are the following:

They help prevent and prevent cardiovascular diseases.
They purify the blood, reducing the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.
They help reduce and control blood pressure.
They reduce the risk of heart attacks.
They regulate our body avoiding eating disorders such as overweight or obesity.

Image | Maggie Hoffman This article is published for informational purposes only. You can not and should not replace the consultation with a Nutritionist. We advise you to consult your trusted Nutritionist.