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A fat lot of good: What foods to avoid this festive season

'Tis the season to indulge in lots of fatty food. But what should we avoid? Darren Danks finds out...

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Low fat this, reduced fat that, fat-free something else. We're constantly being told to cut down on the amount of fatty food we eat. It seems as though all fat is demonised and we shouldn't go near it. But not all fats are bad for us. Here at Woman, we want to help dispel some of the myths about fat being a bad food source.

Good fats and bad fats:

While not all fats are bad for us, not all are good either. There are four types of fat: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated and trans fats.

Saturated fats:

Saturated fats are primarily found in animal and dairy products such as meat, butter and cheese, they are usually solid at room temperature and are one of the larger contributors of dietary cholesterol because of the sources of the saturated fat. Saturated fat intake should be kept to a minimum as much as possible.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats:

These typically tend to be liquid at room temperature; oils such as olive oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil etc are high in these fats and it's recommended that fat intake should mostly be from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These can actually help your cholesterol levels by balancing your good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). Other sources of these fats are avocados, nuts and seeds.

Trans fats:

This is the real nasty type of fat. The vast majority of sources of trans fats are processed foods (naturally occurring trans fats only account for a tiny amount in our diet), mostly from partially hydrogenated oils, something to look for on the food labels and AVOID. Trans fats act to raise your bad cholesterol and reduce your good cholesterol as well as raise the chances of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Why do we need fats in our diet?

Fats provide insulation for the body and protect the organs. They also regulate temperature and hormones, build cells and keep them healthy, help brain function, and make skin look radiant, and hair feel soft and strong.

Contrary to what we're led to believe, fats are essential to our health, without them, vitamins A, D, E and K have a very hard time being absorbed into our body because they are fat-soluble vitamins. Deficiency in these vitamins due to bad absorption in our body can cause a number of health issues.

Which to eat and which to avoid:

With the recent release of the report by the World Health Organisation placing processed meats in group one, meaning they cause cancer (colorectal cancer), processed meats should be avoided as much as possible.

They are also a hugely significant source of trans fats, another good reason to reduce or even better, eliminate them from our diets.

But Christmas is coming and we do love our nibbles and meaty bits on sticks.

So does that mean you have to miss your favourite nibbles at Christmas time? Yes and no.

You can still enjoy pigs in blankets but maybe source your sausages from local butchers who produce their own, or maybe even have a go at making some at home. That way you know exactly what's going into them.

Using good quality meat (grass fed is the best option if you can get it) means they will be healthier and a higher quality than those you can buy from the supermarket, (you know, those that cost a couple of pounds for a whole family pack). There are always healthier alternatives to be found where you don't lose out on taste and gain on quality.

Nuts are another favourite during the season of good will. Bagged nuts that have been roasted, salted and coated are readily available and instantly consumable. While nuts are a very good source of great fats, the type that are covered in sugar-laden honey, chemical-laden coatings or thirst-inducing salt, aren't really the best choices. Raw nuts each have their own wonderful flavours and they're amazing sources of health-giving fats.

Other great sources of fat are avocados. They can be made into amazingly healthy yet indulgent desserts you'd never realise are made from the fruit. Avocado chocolate mousse or avocado chocolate brownies can help satisfy your chocolate cravings but with nowhere near the amount of guilt. Search the internet for healthy dessert recipes and you'll be amazed at what you can find.

This festive season you can still eat, drink and be merry without over-indulging on all those bad fats. Just make a conscious effort to eat the good ones.

By Darren Danks (Darren is a holistic health coach based near Dudley, specialising in working with type 2 diabetes and people who are overweight.)

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