Choosing Good Fats Over Bad to Protect Your Heart
February is "Heart Health Month" and the
naturopathic experts at the National University of Health Sciences
in Lombard say one of the best ways to protect your heart is to get
familiar with fats!
Most people understand that high cholesterol levels in the blood
can create heart health risks. But there's more to heart health
than limiting saturated fat in your diet."
What can be even worse are damaged fats, such as the
'polyunsaturated fats' when they are rancid or oxidized from high
heat cooking. People are often told to consume
polyunsaturated fats for heart health, but aren't told that these
fats can have adverse long-term effects when they are damaged by
cooking or by artificial processes. Even plain old vegetable oil,
if reused over and over in a deep fryer can build up damaged fats
that can jeopardize your health.
An extreme example of a bad polyunsaturated fats are "trans
fats" which have hydrogen added to them to make them more useful
for baking or more stable for frying. Conventional
shortening, and certain margarines are produts that contain high
levels of trans fats.
Bad fats, like trans fats and damaged polyunsaturated fats, can
raise cholesterol too. Also, they easily form the substances that
literally injure the inside lining of our arteries, including those
precious coronary arteries that bring blood to the heart. The
body's response to this injury is to coat the inflamed artery with
more cholesterol and hardening factors such as calcium. Over the
years, this leads to a 'plaque' that can eventually clog up the
artery.
Good fats that are heart-healthy include olive oil or
non-hydrogenated virgin coconut oil. Look for cold-pressed, high
quality oils for cooking, and store them in a cool dark place to
prevent rancidity.
Also, never reuse vegetable oil after cooking with it at high
temperatures. Look at nutrition labels for products that have zero
trans fats."
If you'd like to explore more ways to protect your heart health,
you can call 1-630-629-9664 to find the NUHS Whole Health Center nearest you
and schedule an appointment with a primary care physician (DC or
MD) who is either trained in or works with experts in naturopathic
medicine.
