What is a Low Fat Diet?

Low fat diet is part of a healthy living equation and is made up of less saturated fat and more of good dietary fats to provide your body with the essential fatty acids and energy that it needs.

▪ Daily fat intake should not be more than 20-30% of all foods you eat.

▪ Eating more fruits, vegetables and grains.

▪ Drinking lots of water.

▪ Exercising, moving around more and moving away from sedentary lifestyle.

▪ Eating low sugar foods as well as low fat.

▪ Eating less of saturated and trans fats and more of good fats.

Good fats– Omega 3, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats to a degree- are found in olives, olive oil, nuts, seeds and oily fish.

Saturated fats are found in meat, dairy, eggs, coconut and palm oils and are solid in room temperature.

Trans fats are found in hydrogenated oils and also animal fats, with a higher melting point and are used to extend the shelf life of cookies and cakes. 

Why a Low Fat Diet?

▪ To lower your blood pressure and to reduce your cholesterol.

▪ To reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

▪ To achieve your ideal weight.

▪ To boost your immune system.

▪ To prevent certain types of cancer and other diseases.

 

How to Reduce Fat Intake:

Having a low fat diet and reducing the fat content in your daily meals is a lot easier than you think:

• No need to add lots of oil/margarine/butter into the saucepan when you cook. For example, if you are making spaghetti bolognese , minced meat itself has fat on it no matter how lean it may be. Leave the meat for a minute or so on the heat, you will see the fat coming out, so is there any point of adding more?

• To make the food taste as good without the extra fat, experiment with herbs, pepper and other healthy or neutral ingredients.

• Get rid of the liquid fat while you are cooking, then put the pan back onto the heat and continue cooking, this is animal fat that is high in saturates. If u must have some oil, just add a splash of olive oil, not more than 2 teaspoons.Olive oil is still ‘fat’ in terms of calories and fat content, but a little bit won’t hurt and it does have health benefits.

• Do you fancy cheese? Try cottage cheese, or the types that have less than 10-12% fat content such as light gouda or jarlsberg or low fat cheese spreads, it may take a little time to get used to but low fat versions do not taste any less than the normal ones.

• Never eat the skin of chicken! This is one of the highest fat foods you can have. Most fat in chicken is hidden under the skin.

• Choose skim milk or semi-skimmed milk instead of full cream in your coffee, tea or your cereal.

• What about having low fat plain yogurt instead of cream? Yogurt is quite a big part of certain exotic cuisines. In cooking, on the side of your main meal or on its own, it is one of the healthiest foods you can have with so many benefits. A good example is creamy soups , yogurt is a perfect substitute for cream.

• Avoid fried foods at all costs, try baked, sauteed or stir-fried. Fish, for instance, is extremely healthy but frying it will do you no good. Oily fish have higher fat content but they are the omega 3 and omega 6 that our body needs in certain amounts every day.

• Try and cook at home more rather than eating out in fast food or fancy restaurants. Chefs concentrate on making the meals as tasty as possible, not healthy! by using cream, fat and sugar whenever possible and this certainly won’t help your dedication to low fat diet.

• Having a low fat diet does not mean suffering. Most items sold in supermarkets have lower fat alternatives these days, one way or another! Make the effort to find them, it will pay off very soon.

• Try to reduce the butter and margarine on your toast and use the lower fat spreads instead.

*Foods like eggs, meats, dairy and nuts include lecithin, that is extremely important for your well-being. These foods also happen to be high in fat, so remember to choose the lean cut meats and (semi) skim milk or to eat eggs and nuts in moderation to reap the amazing lecithin benefits.

 

Starvation Diet 

Hibernation Diet 

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