- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- recipes today articles
- recipes today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Mixing Fats
A Marriage of High- and Low-fat Foods Is a Good Thing
By Teri Brown
But don't think you can avoid confusion by just avoid fat. "Americans have been misled for years and are fatter and sicker because of it," Dr. Pescatore says. "We should have been encouraged to choose quality fats and oils, but the hype only focused on the quantity of fat. We were also led to believe that it was OK to substitute sugar for fat in processed foods, that margarine (a trans-fat laden fake-food) was better than butter. It's high time to retire these myths."
Dr. Pescatore is the first to admit that at least "fat-free" was a simple message. Now we need to understand the value of fats, how to select and use them for building health. We also have a new message: something simple and easy to understand become monounsaturated rich and you will be getting good fats in your diet.
Dr. Pascatore isn't worried about fat being fattening. "Any food in ridiculous excess can be fattening, but with a proper balance, the body actually burns body fat more efficiently if there is fat in the diet."
So how can we get a healthy mix of fats in our diet? By focusing on variety, a woman will also get a variety of fatty acids in her diet. Try consuming more greens, fish, nuts, seeds and using monounsaturated rich oils such as olive oil and macadamia nut oil. Butter is preferred over margarine, and an oil made of nuts over an oil made of vegetables. And moderation in everything! Which is good news to those of us tired of nonfat foods!
So go ahead – mix it up a little!
